FOI revision a step in the right direction

AS the McNulty farce sadly reminded us this week our relationship with accountability or transparency could hardly be described as natural or embracing.

Where we should have a culture of confident, empowering openness we have one of evasion and prevarication, one of default stonewalling and concealment in our public affairs. This borderline dishonesty has not served us at all well.

Just last July a review of the Department of Justice uncovered a “closed, secretive” culture, just one of several damming conclusions about how one of the most powerful arms of Government conducted business. Unfortunately — and probably realistically — the general perception is that any review of any Government department – and most semi states – might easily reach similar conclusions.