Talk of transparency is set aside for spin and secrecy

This time last year, when kite-flying season began, the Taoiseach reassured the Dáil it would “drown in debates and information” about the approaching budget.

He was promising a “new departure” in budget transparency and a system that would see options for cuts discussed in the Dáil instead of leaked to the media.

Events of recent weeks show the Government has gone back to the traditional and democratically flawed approach best described as a mixture of secrecy and spin.