Right of access to public data a crucial tool in democracy

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

CORRESPONDENCE that was until recently considered so sensitive that it would have threatened eurozone monetary policy and destabilised the Irish economy has finally been published.

According to the European Central Bank — which resisted requests for publication including the recommendation of the European Ombudsman — the contents of correspondence exchanged between its then president Jean Claude Trichet and former minister for finance Brian Lenihan in the lead-up to the Irish entry into the 2010 bailout had to remain top secret.