Sidelining ombudsman unacceptable - Irish Water and accountability

It is a recurring, central theme in the discussion around how we might improve our public life that accountability remains little more than a notional principle, one that sounds good in a civics class — or even during an election campaign — but one we are not ready for just yet. Our indifference to the idea is a glaring weakness, a debilitating get-out-of-jail clause casting an opaque cloud over nearly everything we do.

Of course, it must be acknowledged that, when given the opportunity to give real investigative powers to our parliament so accountability could be established, the electorate thought better of it and, five years ago, rejected the 13th amendment proposed for our Constitution. The failure to adopt this change — designed to overturn the 2002 Maguire Vs. Ardagh Supreme Court ruling which so hinders public investigation — effectively rendered most public inquiries all but pointless and ensured they can never be transformative. Most remain floundering, peripheral sops thrown to an increasingly disenchanted and disinterested public — tragically the a-day-late-and-a-dollar-short banking inquiry must be so categorised, despite the best efforts of its members.

Just last week correspondence between the former governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Holohan, and Finance Minister Michael Noonan revealed how companies or individuals supplying information to the Central Bank to allow it shape policy faced no consequences if they lie. This seems so very bizarre, so very convenient for the financial sector, that it impossible not to be very critical of those who drew up and those who endorsed the legislation. The reforms proposed in this area cannot come quickly enough — nevertheless, it is fair to ask why they have not been implemented already.