Irish political scandals

Since at least the 1970s, many Irish political scandals relating to miscarriage of justice, dereliction of duty and corruption by public officials have resulted in the establishment of extrajudicial Tribunals of Enquiry, which are typically chaired by retired High-Court judges and cannot make judgements against any of the parties. Since 2004 many such scandals have been investigated by the less costly but less transparent Commissions of Investigation.[1] Many Irish scandals, however, have not resulted in trials or public enquiries.

1970s

1980s

  • 1981 - The Stardust Fire enquiry: Fire in night-club with pad-locked fire doors results in 48 deaths. Following a 12-day investigation, nobody is held accountable
  • 1982 - The "GUBU" Affair: Attorney General flies abroad as fugitive double-murderer is arrested in his apartment
  • 1983 - Phone tapping scandal: FF Justice Minister orders Gardaí to "tap" the phones of political journalists"
  • 1984 - The Kerry Babies case: Gardaí in Kerry concoct fantastical infanticide charges against a young woman and her family

1990s

2000s

2010s

  • 2010 - RTE Prime Time Report on Symphysiotomy: It is estimated that 1,500 women unknowingly and without consent underwent an outdated obstetric procedure in the Republic of Ireland between 1944 and 1987
  • 2011 - Double Irish, Dutch Sandwich & Green Jersey: Massive corporation Tax avoidance schemes facilitated by the Irish tax code enabling profit shifting to low-tax regimes
  • 2013 - Garda Penalty Points Cancellation: Garda "whistleblowers" allege that Gardaí across the state were favouring certain speeding drivers by cancelling (or failing to register) thousands of penalty points
  • 2014 - GSOC "Bugging" Investigation: The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) engaged UK security contractor Verrimus to "sweep" their offices.
  • 2014 - Central Remedial Clinic Salary Top-Ups: Senior executives of CRC receive a statutory salary of over €100k from the HSE, which they “top-up” from charitable funds to more than double their salaries
  • 2014 - Garda whistleblower scandal: Two Gardaí who made separate "protected" disclosures complaining about poor standards in the force were ostracized by colleagues and superiors and subjected to a smear campaign by various agencies of the state
  • 2016 - U.S. vulture funds paying no Irish Taxes US distressed debt funds file Irish company CRO accounts with large profits on Irish investments (made from 2012 onwards), but no Irish tax payments
  • 2016 - Console Charity scandal: Founder of suicide charity Paul Kelly, his wife Patricia and son Tim, had run up a bill of almost €500,000 on the Charity's credit card to pay for a luxury car, foreign holidays, designer clothes, and tickets to major sporting events
  • 2017 - Bogus Garda Breath Tests: The Garda was forced to admit that half of the two million alcohol breath tests it claimed were carried out on motorists between 2012 and 2016, were bogus.
  • 2018 - CervicalCheck cancer scandal: Hundreds of women whose Cervical Smear tests were incorrectly reported have since developed full cancer. HSE delays engagement to minimize compensation
  • 2019 - CSO Report on Irish Defense Forces: Report shows that 85% of Irish military personnel earn less than the average industrial wage.

2020s

  • 2020 - "Golf Gate": During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oireachtas Golf Society hosts a post-tournament dinner at Clifden Hotel, in apparent breach of regulations. Ultimately the District Court dismissed all charges against the only four people who were prosecuted.
  • 2021 - Mother and Baby Homes Commission Report: Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes publishes its long-delayed, final report omitting and redacting the testimonies of many survivors
  • 2021 - Dept. of Health autism dossiers: RTÉ Investigates documentary interviews a whistleblower alleging that the Dept. of Health was secretly gathering information from private consultations about the families, parents and siblings of children with autism
  • 2021 - Katherine Zappone controversy: a gathering is held in breach of COVID-19 regulations at the Merrion Hotel
  • 2021 - Bóthar Charity embezzlement: Four managers of the Irish livestock charity accused of misappropriating €1.1M in funds
  • 2021 - Inner City Helping Homeless: Charities Regulator winds up the company after founder and CEO is accused of sexually assaulting homeless men
  • 2021 - Mica scandal: Decades-long failure to regulate building materials results in thousand of homes crumbling in counties Donegal, Roscommon, Mayo and Clare and brings mass protests to the streets of Dublin
  • 2021 - The "Women of Honour" scandal: RTE radio documentary exposes institutional bullying, misogyny and sexual violence within the Irish Defense Forces.
  • 2023 - The RTÉ secret payment scandal: RTÉ TV used secret funds to pay leader presenter Ryan Tubridy €345,000 between 2017 and 2023.
  • 2024 - The Dáil bike shed controversy: The Office of Public Works spends €336,051 on a bike shed for the use of Dáil members at Leinster House[2]

See also

  • Cute hoor, a cultural concept in Ireland where a certain level of corruption is forgiven - or sometimes even applauded - of politicians or businessmen

References

  1. ^ "Ireland must reconsider its use of commissions of investigation". The Irish Times. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  2. ^ Pat, Leahy (2025-05-15). "Controversial €335,000 Dáil bike shed had no value-for-money assessment, report finds". irishtimes.com. The Irish Times. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_political_scandals