Twenty years ago John Bruton promised, on taking office as taoiseach, that his government would operate "as transparently as if it were working behind a pane of glass". The subsequent introduction of Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation by the Fine Gael/Labour coalition ensured that government departments and State bodies were made more accountable for their actions. As one Supreme Court Justice has remarked, FOI changed the culture of centuries by "replacing the presumption of secrecy with one of openness". The Information Commissioner, Peter Tyndall has said, that further reforms are needed if "bastions of secrecy" within parts of the public sector are to be successfully challenged, and removed. Mr Tyndall was presenting the annual report of the Office of the Information Commissioner, which last year had to compel five public bodies to comply with FOI law, and release data in the public interest.

Last year the office handled some 19,000 FOI requests, of which more than four-fifths were granted, either in whole or in part. Most requests – 78 per cent – were for personal information, and those to the Health Service Executive (HSE) accounted for the highest proportion. The Government has said that it may reduce the €15 charge to process a FOI request for non-personal information. However, it has been slow to make the change, and to complete some other promised FOI reforms: notably, amending FOI legislation to include public bodies such as the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) and the Central Bank within its remit. Although Nama plays a major role in the economy and has come to dominate the property market, nevertheless it still remains subject to limited public scrutiny of its actions.

President Barack Obama, on first taking office described America's FOI law as "the most powerful instrument we have for making our government honest and transparent". When the Government fully delivers on its promised reforms of FOI, it will be better placed to make a similar claim.