Ireland’s OGP Journey

Economists may argue about the precise mechanisms through which the quality of public governance underpins economic prosperity but organisations like the OECD and the World Bank have long advocated policies founded on this linkage.

Their consistent advice is that greater openness and transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More and clearer accountability can play a key role in contributing to sustainable economic and social progress in both the developed and developing world.

Some of the key objectives contained in the Public Service Reform Plan last January are anchored in the recognition that an open, transparent, accountable and ethical system of public administration is integral to public trust and to national economic recovery.

Programme for Government commitments such as, for example, the extension of the Ombudsman’s remit to all public bodies, the planned introduction of whistleblower protection legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r..., the restoration and reform of Freedom of Information and the regulationGovernment reformers are developing regulations that enshrine values of transparency, participation, and accountability in government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or reforming ... of lobbyingLobbying transparency allows the public to ensure that there is diversity of participation and contribution to public decision-making. Technical specifications: Policies and actions affecting lobbying..., comprise key elements of an ambitious programme of government reform, the implementation of which is currently well advanced.

These important legislative initiatives are being complemented by the developing involvement of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in the Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More (OGP).

The OGP is a global partnership, now composed of 63 countries, that aims to secure concrete commitments from participating countries in areas such as accountability, transparency, citizen engagement and the use of technology. The OGP focuses on some of the same areas that form the basis of current reforms in Ireland. A key feature of the OGP is the emphasis it places on working with and supporting civil society in the development of national action plans designed to deliver on OGP objectives.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform formally issued a letter of intent to join the partnership following Government approval in May 2013. In the subsequent ten months a lot of ground has been covered in Ireland’s OGP journey. Last summer a public consultation with civil society groups and citizens was undertaken by Transparency International Ireland and a report of its recommendations was subsequently published.

Over recent months this work has fed into the preparation of Ireland’s first national action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen.... A small Working Group composed of departmental representatives and those of civil society is overseeing this work. This document will outline a number of actions that Ireland will take over a two year period toward a number of Open Government objectives. The completionImplementers must follow through on their commitments for them to achieve impact. For each commitment, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) evaluates the degree to which the activities outlin... of the plan is expected to add continued impetus to reform efforts, particularly in the area of Open DataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici... in relation to which the Minister announced a major initiative at the OGP summit in London last autumn to bring Ireland in line with the latest international practice in that field. The London Summit also provided the opportunity for the Minister to highlight to an international audience the work that Ireland was doing in relation to whistleblowing protection in the Protected Disclosures Bill.

Minister Howlin at OGP London Summit 2013

Another exciting aspect of Ireland’s involvement in the OGP is our commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... to host the OGP Europe Regional meeting in Dublin Castle on 8th-9th May this year. This conference will bring together government representatives and members of civil society organisations from across Europe for what is likely to be an active and dynamic exploration and discussion of Open Government issues and objectives. It is intended that Ireland’s first national action plan will be launched in the course of the conference.

That Ireland is hosting this conference, only twelve months after formally declaring its intent to join the OGP, clearly shows our commitment to the partnership and to its principles. It is also a further demonstration of the energyEnsuring universal access to sustainable, dependable, and affordable energy is critical to every aspect of prosperity. Increasing public oversight and transparency in the energy sector can help to ens... and attitude that has been so integral to Ireland’s economic recovery – the willingness to not only meet our commitments but to work to exceed them, and the desire to showcase Irish success on an international stage.

In a period of less than a year Ireland has made significant progress on its OGP journey – a journey certain to continue long beyond the launch of our first action plan and our hosting of the Europe meeting.

William Beausang, Assistant Secretary, Government Reform Unit

This article is cross-posted from the website of Ireland’s Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (PER), posted 21st March 2014.  The original post can be read here.