From top: Department of the Taoiseach; A schedule of meetings of the Senior Officials Group (SOG); Access to records denied
Who’s running the show?
Who’s really running the show?
Investigative journalist and lecturer Ken Foxe writes
One of the key parts of the state’s COVID19 strategy has been the creation of a Senior Officials Group (SOG) to assist the government.
I hoped to find out a bit more about what they’ve been doing through their agendas and minutes … the response will probably not surprise you.
The creation of the Senior Officials Group was announced as part of the national action plan on Covid-19 back in mid-March. Very little is known about it.
Its establishment and work has not been welcomed by all.
One government minister was quoted in May as saying there is “no scrutiny” of it and that even they could not get copies of the minutes.
From the schedule of records, we know that many meetings took place. But we cannot have any further information on the agenda, what was discussed, who attended, or what was decided.
This was then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in the Dáil on April 16: “Transparency is really important here. If we want to keep the trust of the people, we need to be transparent …”
It’s difficult to square what has been said in public about transparency and then having a group like this, which operates entirely in secret.
The decision has today been appealed by @RightToKnowIE
Anyone?