May.30, 2010

A recent report by the think tank’s working group on bribery said that, while there were improvements in Ireland’s position, more changes were needed.

The report said Ireland had yet to enact recommendations to protect whistleblowers in the public and private sectors who reported suspicions about foreign bribery.

Legislation has been drawn up to cover this issue, but it has yet to be enacted. Government bodies are waiting for the legislation to be passed before drawing up procedures for employees.

The OECD working group was also ‘‘seriously concerned’’ about the lack of corporate liability for foreign bribery in Ireland. This presented ‘‘major issues’’ for Ireland’s compliance with international bribery rules, it said.

The OECD was also ‘‘deeply concerned’’ about the fact that Ireland had not addressed the issue of dual criminality, except in the matter of money laundering. Dual criminality means an offence has to be illegal in both countries before it is recognised.

The UN estimates that 15 per cent of all companies in the developed world bribe or make under-the-counter payments to do business in other countries, especially in the less-developed world. The OECD report commended Ireland for raising awareness and providing training on bribery of foreign public officials, and said Ireland had ‘‘significantly increased its activities within the Irish public sector’’.

But the working group said further efforts were needed in the private sector.

Sanctions for false accounting offences had not increased as recommended by the OECD, according to the report, which was signed off in March. Since then, the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Bill 2009 has come into effect in Ireland.

A number of pieces of legislation that were due to be enacted when the OECD working group visited Ireland in June 2008 had still not been brought into effect at the time of the group’s recent visit, according to the OECD.