Ireland Corruption Report

There is a low risk of corruption in Ireland’s judiciary, and the courts and prosecution services are among the country’s most trusted public institutions. Companies perceive irregular payments and bribes to be very rare during judicial proceedings (GCR 2015-2016). About one in five citizens perceive bribery and abuse of power being widespread in the courts and tribunals (Eurobarometer 2017). Three out of five companies report they perceive the independence of the judiciary as fairly good or very good, while three out of four citizens share the same opinion (JS 2017). However, companies express insufficient confidence in the efficiency of the legal framework in relation to settling disputes and challenging regulation (GCR 2017-2018). Politicians are prohibited from interfering in the judiciary, and rarely appear to do so (SGI 2017). There is a lack of transparency in the appointment of judges in Ireland and there is no code of conduct for judges (GRECO 2017). Nearly a third of judges believe some judges in Ireland have been appointed or promoted on basis other than merit or experience (ENCJ 2017). Litigants are entitled to a trial by jury in commercial disputes (ICS 2017). Enforcing a contract is significantly more time consuming and expensive than the average of OECD high-income countries (DB 2018).

Ireland is a party to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and a member state of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

There is a low risk of corruption in Ireland’s security sector. The reliability of police services to protect companies from crime is considered high (GCR 2017-2018). A third of citizens perceive corruption and abuse of power to be widespread in this sector, but there are virtually no reports of paying bribes to police officers (Eurobarometer 2017). The government has established effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption within the police force (the Gardai) (HRR 2016). The ombudsman commission received 1,996 complaints in 2015; the largest number of allegations pertained to police related abuse of authority or neglect of duty (HRR 2016).

There is a low risk of corruption when interacting with public services in Ireland. Corruption and demands for bribes are unlikely when dealing with Ireland’s public administration (GCR 2015-2016). Bureaucratic procedures are transparent and efficient, and the government has developed a transparent and non-discriminatory policy framework which embraces competition (ICS 2017). However, companies indicate that inefficient government bureaucracy is an obstacle to doing business in Ireland (GCR 2017-2018). There are concerns about corruption in municipal governments (EUACR 2014). The government generally acts predictably and follows known rules (SGI 2017).

Starting a business is significantly faster and less costly than elsewhere in OECD high-income countries (DB 2018). Dealing with construction permits takes less time and requires fewer steps than the OECD high-income average (DB 2018).

There is a low corruption risk in Ireland’s tax administration. Companies indicate that bribes and irregular payments when making tax payments are very rare (GCR 2015-2016). Likewise, only a small percentage of citizens believe corruption is widespread among tax authorities and no citizens indicate that they paid bribes to tax authorities (Eurobarometer 2017). Companies should note that Irish law prohibits the tax deductibility of any expenditure or income that constitutes a criminal offense, including bribes, both in Ireland and abroad (OECD 2016). Foreign investors are attracted to Ireland’s low corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent (ICS 2017). Ireland and the European Commission are entangled in a dispute over the legitimacy of Ireland’s application of transfer pricing methodology and arm’s length principle in tax assessments; a decision could potentially adversely impact large investors significantly with retroactively assessed taxes (ICS 2017). For example, the European Commission (EC) has ordered Ireland to collect EU 13 billion in back taxes from Apple because EC says the tax breaks amount to illegal state aid (Reuters, Aug. 2017). The VAT gap in Ireland amounts to roughly EUR 1.3 billion a year (ECTG 2017).

Paying taxes in Ireland requires roughly half the time required elsewhere in high-income OECD countries (DB 2018).

There is a very low risk of corruption in Ireland’s customs administration. Corruption at borders is not a problematic factor but burdensome procedures are among the main constraints for importing and exporting in Ireland (GETR 2016). Irregular payments and bribes during customs procedures are very rare (GETR 2016). Companies rate the efficiency and time-predictability of the clearance process highly (GETR 2016). The time and costs required to comply with border procedures significantly exceed the OECD high-income average (DB 2018). See the website of Irish Tax and Customs for information regarding customs rules.

Corruption is not reported to be a risk in Ireland’s natural resources sector, with no reports of companies expecting to pay a bribe for environmental permits, including waste and water treatment (European Commission, Feb. 2014).