Whistleblower law is silent on areas crying out for reform

'This isn’t a left versus right issue. It’s a contest between those who believe democracy needs dissent, and those who are dissenting from a very democratic principle,' writes Mairéad Farrell 

Maurice McCabe with his wife Lorriane at the Disclosures Tribunal at Dublin Castle in 2018. Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

For most of its history, this State has had a fraught relationship with the ideals of transparency and accountability, terms that are regularly invoked, but rarely made reality.

Political scientists John Coakley and Michael Gallagher described a "presumption of secrecy" underpinning government, while historian Tom Garvin noted a certain tendency towards "censorship in the name of keeping public order".