The introduction of FOI in Ireland was a watershed moment in Irish democracy. It gave citizens a right to know, and abolished eighty years of official secrecy that had existed since the foundation of the State. As the new 2014 FOI Act is extended to the gardaí and the Central Bank for the first time, this book critically examines the important contribution the legislation has made to the opening up of Irish democracy and society.

The book includes important contributions from the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner Peter Tyndall, former minister Eithne FitzGerald and RTE journalist Richard Dowling. It will be a core text for students of politics and public administration, journalism, media and communications and law; and will be an important reference for policy makers and civil and public servants.

Introduction - Maura Adshead and Tom Felle
1. International trends in freedom of information - Nat O'Connor
2. Two steps forward and one step back: political culture and FOI - Maura Adshead
3. Freedom of information and national security: where's the harm in that? - Jennifer Kavanagh
4. Freedom of information and policing: still a very secret service - Richard Dowling
5. FOI and public trust in parliament - Mark Mulqueen
6. Freedom of information and the media - a case of delay, deny, defeat? - Conor Ryan
7. A glass half full or half empty? Citizens' experiences with FOI - Tom Felle and Gavin Sheridan
8. Reflections on freedom of information: past, present and future - Eithne FitzGerald, John Carroll and Peter Tyndall
Conclusion - Maura Adshead, Tom Felle and Nat O'Connor
Index

Editors

Maura Adshead is Senior Lecturer in Politics and Public Administration in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at University of Limerick

Tom Felle is Acting Director, News Journalism in the Department of Journalism at City University London