IRELAND
Irish Independent
Openness, transparency and accountability - otherwise known as OTA - was one of the great political catch cries of the 1990s.
The theory went that if political decisions were hidden from public view, the more likely it was that those decisions would be bad, against the public interest, or even corrupt.
Conversely, the more these decisions were taken in full view of the public, the more likely it was that they would serve the public interest. As a general rule, this theory is completely sound, and the experience of other organisations, not least An Garda Siochana - witness the McBrearty case - proves it.
But so does the recent experience of Catholic Church - in spectacular fashion.
All organisations have a strong, almost irresistible tendency to be self-protective.
They are protective, first and foremost, towards their own members. In the case of the Gardai, that means members of the force. In the case of politics, that means members of the political parties, and in the case of the Church, that means, primarily, priests and religious although it should also mean the laity.
In each case, the self-protective instinct of an organisation leads to a situation where the needs of the members can easily be put ahead of the needs of the public. Again, the McBrearty case showed this, and so did the clerical sex abuse scandals.
Posted by kshaw at June 13, 2005 04:29 AM