The Ombudsman - State agencies must be open to scrutiny

CIVIL servants and government ministers have a pathological resistance to the normal concepts of openness, accountability and transparency that govern the lives of most people.

As a result decisions are being made behind closed doors in hundreds of government bodies and agencies that can have a devastating impact on the man and woman in the street. Yet, they are not open to public scrutiny through the office of the Ombudsman.

It is not surprising that in her annual report for 2006, the Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly is critical of the serious limitations that her office faces on a daily basis.