March 2009: 'Transparency International': In Ireland, "legal corruption" of "personal relationships, patronage, political favours, and political donations are believed to influence political decisions and policy to a considerable degree"

Transparency International, in March 2009, in a study funded by the Irish Government Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, found that in Ireland, “personal relationships, patronage, political favours, and political donations are believed to influence political decisions and policy to a considerable degree.2 This “legal corruption”, as Transparency International terms it, is the root cause of our petition because we believe that a political decision was made to site the LNG terminal on the southern shores of the Shannon Estuary and now the development consent bodies are only “ticking the boxes” to give permission for this terminal without any strategic planning or concern for the environment or health and safety of the thousands of people living within the danger zone of this development.

 Click here to read the full "Transparency International" report on legal corruption in Ireland 2009.