A five-judge Supreme Court has unanimously rejected arguments by the National Assets Management Agency that it is not a public authority subject to freedom of environmental information requests.

IT may be overstating the case to say a citadel fell yesterday, but only just. 

A five-year battle by Nama to prevent details of its loans and properties being provided under environmental information law ended in defeat at the Supreme Court yesterday.

Follow live updates from the ’Data Journalism: A new direction for Irish media?’ discussion at CIT from 2pm to 5pm here.

Lucinda Creighton (Irish Examiner, November 7) should be reminded that when the journalist Gavin Sheridan and his colleagues first began the process of requesting copies of the correspondence between Ireland and the European Central Bank (ECB) it wasn’t only the ECB who blocked them every step of the way until the matter was escalated to the European Ombudsman.

After three years of asking, the famous Trichet letter finally saw the light of day, write Gavin Sheridan and Fred Logue.

The ECB could publish the now notorious letter it sent to then finance minister Brian Lenihan on the eve of the bailout as early as next week.

The Supreme Court has reserved judgment on a key issue in an appeal by Nama against a decision that it is a public body subject to public access requests for environmental information.

The Supreme Court yesterday began hearing an appeal by Nama which centres on whether the agency is a public body and subject to public access requests for environmental information.

The refusal by the European Central Bank (ECB) to release a letter sent to the late Brian Lenihan in the run-up to the bailout in 2010 “wasted an opportunity for fairness and transparency”, according to the European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly.

POLITICIANS hate being forced by public pressure to change their minds, in case it is regarded as weakness. So, they plough on obstinately with an announced course of action, even though they know that it is wrong, and though they are attracting enormous criticism.

The High Court has today dismissed an appeal by the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) against a ruling by the Commissioner for Environmental Information that it is a public authority and therefore subject to information requests.

The late finance minister, Brian Lenihan, resisted pressure to accept a bailout until the final minute and hinted he did so because of pressure from the ECB.

Michael Noonan has signalled that a 2010 ECB letter reportedly forcing a bailout upon Ireland will eventually be published.

Citizens have access to details after NAMA was ruled a ‘public authority’ and subject to certain information requests, write Gavin Sheridan and Fred Logue

GREATER transparency around the workings of the highly secretive NAMA is expected after the Information Commissioner ruled that it is subject to freedom of information requests.

PRECISE details of how over €38 million was spent in one year by the Oireachtas on the expenses and allowances of TDs and senators, the salaries of Oireachtas staff as well as on the upkeep of Leinster House have been released for the first time.