This is going to leave a huge hole in moderation. Why isn't IRC affected at all? It is part of HLP, just like the Wiki.
No, it isn't and never has been. IRC moderation is a lot looser than forum moderation, and has been that way since forever. We basically only make sure that the Esper terms of service are enforced, and ban the occasional spammer. What you do on IRC has no relevance to the forums and vice versa (except for particularly egregious cases).
(Also, Mobius, as far as I am aware, you're not one of the IRC regulars. Maybe you should make sure that a problem exists there first before calling for changes in how it is run? Just a thought.)