The importance of being open
The financial crisis means the need to scrutinise public bodies is more important than ever. Recent discoveries have found that both NAMA and Anglo Irish are subject to some requests for information. Journalist Gavin Sheridan talks to Richard Chambers about the state of government transparency in Ireland.
Since 2003, successive governments have viewed freedom of information legislation as a hindrance rather than as an essential tool for government transparency and accountability.
In an age where billions of euros of is spent on banks and property developers, access to information about public bodies is perhaps more vital now than ever.
The Information Commissioner Emily O’Reilly acknowledged this fact at the launch of her office’s 2010 annual report, saying:
“The very difficult times in which we live have resulted in a demand from the general public and the media to understandably place decisions of public bodies under unprecedented levels of scrutiny and to focus on how all public bodies have performed in their key roles and functions. Against this backdrop, it is evident that FOI has a vital role to play in ensuring that an informed public debate can be held on all issues of national importance. It remains a matter of concern that FOI does not apply to many of the public bodies which have had or continue to have a pivotal responsibility in making key decisions affecting the lives of our citizens.”
The fact that Freedom of Information legislation does not apply to many of the institutions linked with our financial crisis is more than unfortunate.
Gavin Sheridan and TheStory.ie have long been users of this right to freedom of information and have completed many inquiries into public expenses, political donations, and government correspondence, among others. Recently, they successfully launched inquiries under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) into NAMA and Anglo Irish Bank and found that both were ‘public authorities’ and therefore subject to requests for environmental information.
Gavin spoke with Politico about the implications of his discovery, the state of freedom of information legislation in Ireland and the importance of government transparency. {jathumbnailoff}