Terrence Wheelock

The death of Terrence Wheelock is, and was, upsetting. He was a young man from of similar age to me who, in some ways, would be a lot like lads I was in school with and grew up around. The recent findings of the Garda Ombudsman Commission investigation which have cleared the Gardaí of serious wrong-doing has brought the story back into the public eye.

Others have put it better than I ever could; you should read both posts on Human Rights in Ireland.

I only wish to draw attention to this quote from an Access Info report on police forces and public information published late last year;

This finding shows that the laws in most countries are consistent with the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents which makes no exemption for the police, and which states specifically in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Convention that the police fall under the scope of the right to access to official documents.

…[This report] shows that there is just one country in which the police force is entirely exempt from opening its files to the public: The Republic of Ireland.

Gavin also noted the publication of the report on the day.

All that is needed for An Garda Síochána to come under FOI is the signature of Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, and some regulations to be implemented. Then we can take our place among such nations as Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan as a country that allows citizens to request information from their police force.

The full report is available in PDF format at this link. Access-Info posted this on the day the report was released. I still hope the family get their inquiry.

Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism expenses database

Update: I have totaled the staff claims here.

Readers may recall a blog post I wrote back in December detailing my dealings with the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism (DAST). After gleaning information from the footers of Ken Foxe’s FOIs concerning John O’Donoghue, I established that the Department was using Oracle iExpense software to store expenses information.

I wrote an FOI request in October asking for a ‘datadump’, of the entire database since inception (in other words, a copy of the database). The Department refused both the original request and the appeal for internal review (conducted by a more senior official in the Department).

In January I appealed the decision to the Office of the Information Commissioner. The request, internal review and appeal have cost a combined €240 (kindly made available by you, the public).

The Appeal letter to the Information Commissioner

Today I am pleased to say that I have reached a settlement with the Department, brokered by the Office of the Information Commissioner. The Department have agreed to release almost the entire database, with some elements removed. This is not a formal decision of the Commissioner, but is instead a settling of the issue. This just means that a formal OIC Decision was not required as the two parties reached an agreement.

The settlement is this: the entire expenses database of the Department, to include the follow expenses data headings:

Description, Grade, Full Name, Claim, Date, Purpose, Status, Total Claimed, Distribution Line Number, Start Date, Expense Type, Euro Line Amount, Currency Code, Currency Rate, Amount Quantity Unit, Rate Net Total, (EUR) Payment Date, Withholding Amount Invoice, Amount, Amount Paid.

Cost Centre numbers, employee cost centre numbers, named approvers and justification fields have been removed. There are also some removals from other fields which is either considered personal information or information obtained in confidence. These removals do not mean the information is redacted per se, it just means that in order to get the data, I agreed to remove certain columns in order to expedite the process. It does not preclude me from seeking the justification field, for example, in the future.

The data contains €774,882.29 of expense claims by named civil servants over a five year period (2005 to 2009 inclusive). The amount involved might appear relatively small, but it is the quality of the data that is more significant.

I cannot overstate the importance of the release of this data, and there are a number of reasons why this is the case.

Firstly, it sets an important precedent in terms of what information can be obtained from public bodies. In their refusals to release this data, the Department cited three sections of the Act which they felt exempted them from releasing it. The OIC felt differently. While not a formal decision of the OIC, a settlement was justified in this case as the Department were amenable to releasing the majority of the data sought. Decisions can take far longer to get (up to two years), so I felt that on balance the offered information in the settlement was acceptable.

Second, are the broader implications.

Following this settlement with DAST, I have started the process of requesting similar expenses data from the Department of Agriculture and Food, the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, the Department of Community Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs, the Department of Defence, the Department of Education and Science, the Department of the Taoiseach, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, the Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform, the Courts Service, the Industrial Development Authority, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government, the Department of Finance, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Health and Children, the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the Department of Transport, the Health Service Executive, the Revenue Commissioners, FÁS and Enterprise Ireland.

I believe the combined expenses data for these (and other) bodies will run to tens, if not hundreds of millions of euro.

But perhaps most critical is this: I sought the data not as a journalist looking for a scoop, not as a member of the public with an axe to grind, but as a transparency advocate only interested in the public interest. By publishing this, and coming data, I believe the public is served by a more open and accountable State – where data related to how some public monies are spent is no longer hidden, but is in full view. Transparency keeps the system honest.

I should also make clear that publishing this data is not an attempt to embarrass any one person, nor does it form the basis of any claim that somehow there was something unjustified about any expense claimed by civil servants. It is simply an exercise in transparency, and no more.

And I will leave readers with one question.

If I am getting this data and intend publishing it in its entirety online for the public to see, what is stopping the Government from doing the same, proactively, without question, and as a matter of course?

In the end, sunlight benefits us all.

The dataset, presented as is (and containing some macros):

Department of Arts, Sport & Tourism expenses database

Insiders?

Bottom of page 18 of The Irish Times in the In Short box

Former banker, journalist and political adviser Michael Murray, who previously worked in the cabinet of Ireland’s former EU commissioner Charlie McCreevy, has been appointed a portfolio asset manager at the National Asset Management Agency (Nama).

Judge for yourself.

"These policies are weakening the economy’s ability to cope with growing debt levels. Without a strong recovery, tax revenues will fail to rise and future budgets will simply embed that deficit into the economy."

28 individuals, all economists or social scientists, have signed an open letter which has been printed on the opinion pages of today’s Irish Times.

Synopsis: “Government; you’re doing it wrong.”

Contextual note: most (all?) of the signataries would be generally perceived to be of the Left. Members of TASC and contributors to Ireland After Nama are amongst the 28.

Digest – March 7 2010

You knows how this goes…

– HOME

Splintered Sunrise; debating feminism in the 21st century.

Nyder O’Leary is class. When I’m editing GreatNewsWebsite.ie in 25 years he’ll be my lead opinion writer, whether he likes it or not. What he says about the idea that ministers should have experience running companies is on-the-ball here…

If anything, the role of the politician is to sift through all the weighted advice, and make a decision that’s best for everyone from a social, economic, legal and cultural point of view. The only overriding passion needs to be a broad social vision, coupled with pragmatism about putting it into place. That’s a hell of a job description. The bunch we have now clearly aren’t up to it, but you’re certainly not going to get any social vision by embracing The Cult of The Entrepeneur.

Gerry Adams blogs from the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis.

Dear Irish editors, please read this Reuters’ piece before making moves towards online in the next few years. (CC it to your journalists too.)

Big mainstream-media publications, when they hire people to write their blogs, generally hire people with no blogging experience at all — something which is both ill-conceived and dangerous. Some journalists make good bloggers; most don’t. So rather than gamble that you’ve found one of the rare exceptions, why not make prior blogging experience a prerequisite for such positions?

The fundamental problem with Kouwe was that when he saw good stories elsewhere, he felt the need to re-report them himself, rather than simply linking to what he had found, as any real blogger would do as a matter of course.

John McHale; “resolution regime“.

The Sunday Independent parodies itself. Niamh Horan gets 1,800 words – a whole page – to cover the story that’s supposedly “gripping the nation”, something to do with Rosanna Davison, Glenda Gilson and Johnny Ronan. Read it for the hilarity. Brendan O’Connor (!) gets another few hundred words in with a comment piece also.

The Sunday Independent, Serious Newspaper.

Meanwhile, during a separate encounter minutes later with Ronan, eye-witnesses say Gilson kicked her ex-lover twice. Once in the groin and once in his upper-thigh, leaving the property developer bent in two and wincing in pain.

As an onlooker explained: “He buckled over the minute she kicked him, and he was shouting ‘my fucking balls’. It was madness. As she turned to leave, Johnny then took a swing at her and made contact with her backside.”

“Eye-wtinesses”, “sources close to…”, “her inner circle”… the story is so SIndo it’s funny. It’s like the time the Guardian had an offer of free gift-wrapping paper designed by Nelson Mandela with every copy, you couldn’t make it up.

Really though… what am I doing reading such nonsense. And blogging about it. Shame on me. Back to the usual…

– WORLD

London correspondent for Rúv (the Icelandic RTÉ), Sigrún Davíðsdóttir on the IceSave referendum.

Matt Yglesias on healthcare (again), this time focusing on how it should or could be priced.

The son of the founder of Hamas embraces Christianity and spies for Israel. Ouchies. The Wall Street Journal has an interview.

Michael Yon, Green Beret turned independent war reporter; “how hundreds of military personnel, millions of pounds and an experimental ‘lung’ saved the life of a British soldier… shot by accident in his own camp“.

Better prostehtics coming to a person with a limb blown off in a war without basis near you, soon. Good.

Fallows brings two pieces of clear-minded journalism.

– OTHER

I’m so envious of David Attenborough’s delivery. These Symphony of Science videos are top-notch. Click through for more. Oddly touching.

The Grade Inflation Whirlwind

Update: Gerard Cunningham says it better. As usual. Also, excellent comment from Aoife Citizen below. In yesterday’s paper Sean Flynn placed a date on the meeting.

Over the last few days I’ve only had one eye on the news, but what I’ve seen and heard about the grade inflation story has been awful confusing, altogether.

On Monday it was reported that the Minister for Education, Batt O’Keeffe had launched two “major inquiries” into the “dumbing down” of the Irish education system. The inquiries, according to Séan Flynn of The Irish Times, came following concerns being raised by “leading industrialists” at a “recent“, “no holds barred“, meeting with the minister.

“Recent”, I’d need not tell most readers of this blog, is vague word. Furthermore, saying “Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe has launched…” provides little certainty as to the date on which whatever was launched, was launched. From reading media reports (subsequent to Mondays’, and not alone the Times’), I’ve little idea of when the meeting between multi-nationals and the department of education took place. Nor am I positive of a date on which the grade inflation inquiries began.

However, considering that Craig Barrett was in Dublin on February 9, and the aforementioned use of “recent”, I think it’s fair to assume the meeting took place some time around then. It’s not as easy to make a guess a date on which the inquiries began. Thus, another assumption; within a week of the meeting.

On Tuesday Batt O’Keeffe said the “preliminary results [of the inquiries]… would be available within the week”. Why he didn’t say that 24 hours beforehand is unclear. Perhaps he didn’t know it when the news emerged (from him?) the day prior. Google et al welcomed his actions.

Also Tuesday came news that a separate study on grade inflation had been done by Trinity College academic staff for the TCD University Council. This (as now unpublished) study builds upon another one by the National Irish Educational Standards. It covers only the Irish universities and focuses on the period between 2005 and 2008, unlike the “major inquiries” which Minister O’Keeffe had ordered. The dept of education inquiries were set to look at the whole third level sector as well as the Leaving Cert program, both for the period of 1991 to date – a much, much larger study.

Despite having a far smaller number of institutes and far shorter time period to cover, according to minutes of the University Council meetings, it was two months before preliminary findings could be presented. At the September 30 meeting [PDF link] the Council directed the study to be undertaken, it was 25 November [also PDF] before any findings were offered. It’s also worth noting the findings which were offered were fairly basic, detailing the results of prior reports on the topic, in the main.

While the findings of the TCD group were supplied to the department for use in compiling their report, they remain unpublished (presumably they’re still being reviewed) five months on.

Nothing much relevant, really, on Wednesday.

The following day the department published the details of their inquiries. ‘Significant inflation’ was discovered, unsurprisingly. In the third level sector grade inflation was particularly evident before the establishment of the State Examination Committee in 2003, the department said. That is – apparently, from reading the University Council minutes – exactly as the TCD group had noted in their November ’09 statement. It would make you wonder if the department bothered to look at the non-Uni area of the third level sector at all. Actually, a number of the TCD group’s details noted in the Council minutes seem to have been ‘adopted’.

Regards second level, the department said the kids are okay, nothing to see here, grand.

Whatever about findings being adopted, the claim that two “major inquiries” could be undertaken within (seemingly, a maximum of…) four weeks, perhaps even less, is a hard to believe. Especially when you consider a far smaller study, covering a far shorter period, looking at just one sector, took twice as long to present preliminary findings.

Maybe I’ve missed something (hit me with a comment) but it all seems to have happened a little too quickly.

Grade inflation is a worth examining, I’m sure. But if you’re going to start an new quango, and base policy on a report, you best be sure the report is rock solid. Given how quickly it appears these were compiled, I have my doubts.

Ireland After Nama post on the Live Register

This is what blogs should be used to do.

Fantastic analysis from the team on Ireland After Nama into the latest Live Register figures complete with charts and visualisations. The video below is just one small part.

If you’re not a subscriber to that blog, why the hell not?

Congrats to Justin Gleeson, Rob Kitchin, and Matthias Borscheid on a great (and readable) piece of research.

Enlarge for easier understanding. The video covers Sept 2006 to Jan 2010.

Ahern wins the lotto

Deer Bertie,

Remember that you have ta make sure ta account for the 10,000 pounds that, as I remember it, you did win from the lotto in the pub the other night. The Guvernmint might, as far as I understand the situation, come after ye and try ta tax it from ye or something and if they did do that and looked at your accounts or sumtin and the pounds wasnt in there then ye might be in trouble and then, as I far as I’m aware of the situation as, as, as, as, as, as it stands, you might have to think about making up an excuse about how you did win it legit like saying you won it off Fergie at a United match. Or on the horses or sumtin. Them lottos are always for the hospices in anyway so maybe could say that you did win it on the hospice then if a paper person asks you about it and you get mixed-up you can say they just heard you wrong. 

Anyway, don’t forget to write it down cos ye don’t want ta be looking stupit.

And remember that you’ll be needing to be having a tax clearence form still, just cos you did get one doesn’t mean your covered for the hole of your life, I think.

I know all dis cos I was thought it in UCD and London School of Finance (or sometin) and just cos I don’t have me name on a piece of paper from the Chartering Accountants place doesn’t mean I’m not a real accountant, as i understand it, so don’t believe them people who checked it out.

Regards

Mr Patrick B. Ahern

Charthered Accountant’s Clerk

Ireland

PS What’s plans with the buke stuff and the Guvernmint wanting to take the money back off of ye? And have ya heard from Ken Rohan’s lads in the last while?