TheStory.ie

Guest post: Nat O’Connor is a policy analyst with TASC and contributes to their Progressive Economy blog. He recently published two discussion papers on democratic accountability and the economic logic of strengthening public access rights to official information. The first paper can be viewed here and downloaded as PDF here. The paper on public access to official information can be read here and downloaded here. In recent weeks there has been much media attention given to the papers with articles in The Irish Examiner, an appearance on Morning Ireland and an opinion piece by Hugh Linehan in The Irish Times stemming from their publication, to name a few. – Mark

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It may be stating the obvious, but the extent to which the public can readily access official information has got a lot to do with the health of our democracy.

The Freedom of Information Act 1997 has come to represent this idea in some ways, in direct opposition to the Official Secrets Act 1963 (still in force) which represents government decision-making behind closed doors, where the reasons for those decisions remain secret.

Yet, the need for public access to information in a democracy is much more than just freedom of information law.

In a democracy, people need reliable information to vote; otherwise voting is a meaningless exercise. And just as importantly, people need reliable information between votes, when the real business of running the country takes place. We need information so that we can monitor where tax money is being spent, what policies are in place, what evidence informs decision-making, etc.

This democratic argument is spelled out in more detail in one of the discussion papers I wrote for TASC.

Continue reading “Public Information and Power”

The usually-reliable Royaldutchshellplc.com blog has published what it says are leaked emails relating to the Corrib gas pipeline.

Shell Corrib Gas Pipeline – flood of leaked internal emails.

Nothing explosive (excuse the pun) as far as I can see, though some readers may be interested in having a goo. There’s a natural gas glossary here for those in need too.

Two things did twig my interest, according to the last few mails Shell didn’t really have any idea who had the “current asset ownership of the wells”. That was in early 2009.

Also, Shell told the government that documents are commercially sensitive when they may not have been, thus ensuring the department would have to inform them were the documents to be released under FOI.

That blog is run by some guys with a serious gripe with Shell, but has been recognised for its work in exposing strange workings inside Shell over the years. It is seen as a forum for Shell whistleblowers. The Financial Times, Reuters, Times of London and Fortune magazine have all recognised it as a bona fide source. It’s former owner, Alfred Donovan has featured in several documentaries about adversarial websites and online activism.

I was away in Niger. I’m back blogging. The Digest shall return on Sundays this week.

A reader has commented that coincidentally perhaps, the phone numbers of Ivor Callely and his son Ronan are almost identical. According to his Facebook page, Ronan Callely’s number is 086 2571489. According to the Oireachtas documents, Ivor Callely’s number is 087 2571489 – a one digit difference which applies usually when your provider is different. Curious.