Corruption Perception Index.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 November 2004

Wednesday, 17 November 2004

Questions (338)

Richard Bruton

Question:

378 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to recent information published by Transparency International on the corruption perception index in which it appears Ireland’s position has deteriorated significantly in recent years; if he has considered assessing the elements in the Finnish policy which sees it consistently ranked as the country with the lowest perceived corruption in the world; and the elements he believes have contributed to the slide in Ireland’s ranking. [29108/04]

Written answers

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

Each year Transparency International, a non-governmental organisation, publishes an international corruption perceptions index, or CPI, which charts perceived levels of corruption in countries worldwide. In the 2003 index Ireland was ranked jointly with the USA at 18th place with a score of 7.5. This compares with a ranking of 23rd from a score of 6.9 in the 2002 index. On the rating scale, a score of 10 represents "highly clean" and a score of 0 represents "highly corrupt". While there is no room for complacency, Ireland's position in the index is improving.