I have a number of fundamental ideas. One of them is that Ireland can ultimately only gain decent governorship and a fair democratic system when far greater accountability and transparency is allowed to exist and continue to persist in Ireland. Our few really good elected at local and national level, put out their own part ideas on how to improve many matters in Ireland – and credit to them for doing that. However, I firmly believe that underneath all these ideas, should be a stronger working practise of accountability.
SHORT VERSION.
In other words, by an official, a state department head, an elected representative, etc, that are supposed to doing their job far more properly and with more appropriate dedication towards causes rather than themselves, family and just friends/business mates, all being more accountable would have to be at their work places far more, doing the right things far more and seeing that others do same – far more! If they fail to do these things, they should fear being held to greater account. However, in Ireland, the usual unfunny, inept clowns are not accountable enough. You know it, I know it, and they know it – but for obvious reason, they don’t want to really improve accountability in Ireland when it comes to their very selves. It’s obvious why! Well, if they won’t do it, we should be instigating what they won’t or picking better people that will do what is foundation needed!
Address fundamental accountability across many society levels, far greater positive results can only greater increase for all.
LONGER VERSION.
Stronger accountability is a crucial aspect that will lead to more effective government. Why? Here are just some of the reasons.
- Judgment and Responsibility: Accountability provides an opportunity to pass judgment on how well those in public office and oversight departments have fulfilled their responsibilities. When harm occurs or needs to be advance headed-off, regarding a nations public, a robust accountability system ensures that there is not only a mechanism for redress – but that it’s consistently better kept going.
- Preventing Failure: A state with strong, always consistent accountability mechanisms ensures that those responsible for policy-making, implementation, and public expenditure can be held week to week, accountable for their actions – not just once every five years at best! Better accountability protocols along with their never ending implementation, helps far better prevent repeated failures and ensures that past mistakes are acknowledged and addressed, and lord knows we have had too many instances of elected cock-ups alone, care of the usual old parties what play musical chairs with government bench seats! “There are lessons to be learned” has become a sick, unfunny joke.
- Trust and Learning: Stronger accountability matters because it establishes greater trust between the public and those in power or over state sections. People expect performance to be rewarded when good and penalised when poor. However, accountability should not merely look backward; it should also enable learning from failure. A culture of too loose blame – with poor accountability in follow-up – perpetuates problems, but a focus on learning and improvement leads to better governance. In Ireland as we still recent see, we do great rewards for a small elite but there is piss-poor penalisation for when the same individuals don’t carry out their roles correctly. If fact, they are then let quietly go with an all too often big “exit package”. ‘Heads, they win. Tails, the taxpayer loses!’
In summary, better regular accountability leads to a government and state that is more responsive to more rather than fewer, is greater transparent, and more capable of learning from its mistakes (getting punished when they decline to learn from those lessons), ultimately better accountability serves its citizens more effectively as people under remits have to do their job roles far better.
This can all better happen through an upgrade in out democratic system. That upgrade is called “PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY” – which includes within it, “RECALL”. None of our main steam parties will pursue this. They excuses are many – but fundamentally, they know they would be far more accountable – so they can’t be having that! They give the upgrade a complete deaf ear or spout soundbite excuses at best. Imagine having people in charge that knew they would be better accountable all year, every year, not just once every five years! Do you honestly think they would be more hard working, at their desks more, and better addressing issues? Yes, the vast majority would, if only to keep their well-paid, perked and pensioned job!
Accountability mechanisms play a crucial role in ensuring transparency, responsibility, and effective governance. Here are some examples:
- Political Checks and Balances:
- These include mechanisms like the separation of powers, where different branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) act as checks on each other. For instance, the legislature can hold the executive accountable through oversight and questioning. This clearly NOT working as it should, for we have elected openly operating “Conflicts of interest”. This is something that is deemed in law, highly illegal in other countries – but Irish elected won’t change the laws to account for their party mates two-faced, underhand activities.
- Constitutional constraints also limit the power of government officials, ensuring they adhere to established rules and principles. In Ireland, they still are willing to ignore or break laws when it suits them – while giving out to others same time, that everyone else must obey laws! Double standards with no better accountability much? You bet!
- Legal Mechanisms:
- Anti-corruption agencies investigate and prosecute corruption cases, holding public officials accountable for their actions. That’s the agenda they have – and they try to carry it out – but they are annually hampered as Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour and the Green Party consistently refuse to improve legislation (as begged for, in annual reports presented to them) that would allow greater investigation ability and accountability. Why do they stall or outright refuse? They fear their own, or themselves, then being more accountable!
- The judicial system ensures – or that’s supposed to be the plan – that legal violations are addressed, and individuals are held responsible for their conduct. In Ireland, the judges are a law into themselves. They are piss-poor accountable and on the very rare chances they are, their crimes, their rare very minor punishments are hushed up. The public sees and hears bugger all!
- Fiscal Mechanisms:
- Financial oversight and auditing systems monitor public spending, ensuring funds are used appropriately and efficiently. Again, that’s supposed to be the pan, but as we have regular seen in Ireland, accountability and supposed-to-be practised protocols and investigative situational analysis of crises events, consistently falls short here too, of what’s supposed to be proper decent accountability and punishment where clearly more required!
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) help evaluate the performance of government programs and services. However, elected alone, as well as state department officials, keep creating situation and too loose contracts where KPI’s are not better legally stated and decline to instigate better accountability and punishments when they are not regular met.
- Administrative Mechanisms:
- Rules, procedures, and codes of conduct guide the behaviour of public officials. Violations can lead to accountability measures. That’s the lovely notion. However, they really only apply to those that are not elected or are over many state departments or functions. Past and recent history shows over and over for itself, that rules, procedures and codes of conduct are consistently being ignored by a regular elite. No wonder they give real accountability and it’s better instigation practises, a deaf ear – in case it also might affect them too!
- Bureaucratic oversight ensures that administrative decisions align with legal and ethical standards. Yes, that too is the notion. We have all seen how that is working out – or more so, not working out – with RTE, as well as other setups from state department functions, to they further instigating building contracts and poor over-sight of them so that costs then explode in what appears to be many bottomless pits of public money being repeatedly thrown further into.
Remember, these current mechanisms are supposed to collectively contribute to a well-functioning government that serves its citizens effectively. As we do see in Ireland, without the better levels of accountability that’s still needed, long begged for but still not given, Ireland elites are continuing to allow a never-ending cycle of corruption, greed, cronyism, nepotism, conflict of interest, law breaking antics – and few elites are ever held court room accountable! We should be stating in truth, they are never held court room accountable.
Accountability mechanisms play a crucial role in ensuring transparency, responsibility, and effective governance. However, they face several challenges:
- Lack of Sustainable Funding:
- Adequate funding is essential for the functioning of accountability mechanisms. The lack of predictable and sustainable funding complicates planning and implementation of mandates. The usual four parties (FF/FG/Greens/Labour) decline to not only legal instigate what’s more needed – but also decline to give what’s more needed in funding towards specific department section, so that greater accountability even within kept limited remits, can then not better happen!
- Unclear Roles and Responsibilities:
- When roles and responsibilities are not well-defined, a regular issue with FF/FG government created contracts, it becomes challenging to hold individuals or institutions accountable. Just the way they quietly want it? Clarity is necessary and decades on, is long annually asked for, in order to avoid confusion and ensure effective oversight. KPI’s (key performance indicator’s) are clearly more needed along with far greater defined roles – alongside specified punishments for when they are not met or repeatedly not adhered to.
- Limited Resources:
- Insufficient resources hinder the capacity of accountability bodies to investigate, monitor, and enforce compliance. Without adequate resources, their impact is diminished. SIPO, data protection services and more, are regularly kept under-resource starved. Again, it’s done by the usual bunch for the usual obvious reasons.
- Poor Strategy and Unrealistic Goals:
- Ineffective strategies or unrealistic goals can undermine accountability efforts. Clear objectives and well-thought-out plans are crucial for success. When the usual political lot are asked to go beyond their PR soundbites, they regular decline to get specific (in case they might be held to such details) and often their plans are just nothing beyond short worded sentences for cameras and microphones.
- Resistance from Those Being Held Accountable:
- Some individuals or organizations resist accountability measures, leading to challenges in enforcing consequences for wrongdoing. Some of our dodgy use or exploit, if not twist, the laws they are willing to stand by, to see that the laws they don’t wish to stand by, are escaped from.
- Lack of Support from Government or Institutions:
- Without strong backing from relevant authorities, accountability mechanisms do struggle to function effectively. Lack of political will can hinder progress – and in Ireland with the usual bunch, this is a regular situation continuing for decades as they remain, one party or other, in office charge.
- Complexity of Structural and Systemic Drivers of Impunity:
- Addressing individual situations where responsibility is essential, but not happening enough, while also trying to understand broader systemic issues, is equally crucial. Lost knows ae have at local and national level, a lot of systemic matters to be addressed but are regular not addressed by those that should be doing it. Discriminatory practices and violations of economic, social, and cultural rights must be analysed to break cycles of elitist impunity. Again, greater legal legislation alongside enforced and constant regular oversighted protocols, must be seen through to their successful end. We are talking about days and weeks, not months and years.
In overall summary, addressing much or all of the above is vital to strengthen accountability mechanisms and promote better governance. So, why won’t the usual elected lot not make things better happen? The answer to that is already stated within this report. Without you having to re-read it, I suspect you know already!
In a world where money millions are lost or dodgy transferred in seconds and minutes, compared to once months and years, accountability now has to be greater instigated and also then carried through much faster, to better transparent effect. Anything less is no longer acceptable. Demand it from your local and national election candidates and already elected!