Minister Howlin and Panel – OGP Dublin
300 delegates - 100 speakers 50 Civil Society Groups - 2 day Conference - 1 Action Plan -1 Historical Castle…
…Limitless possibilities
I am blogging today from the historic centre of Dublin, a site which has been a settlement since the 1st century A.D. It has variously been held by the Celts, the Vikings, the Normans, the Tudors and the English Crown. Over the last 2 days it has been occupied again, but this time by invited guests for the Open Government Partnership Europe Regional Meeting.
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
Following the collapse of Ireland’s banking system and economic turbulence in 2008, it is incumbent on us, the Government, to re-build trust and confidence in government, politics and the democratic system here in Ireland.
The importance of bringing government closer to citizens is a principle understood by both governments and civil society across the world.
It is fundamental to securing mature and informed public and political debate.
The challenge is of course in successfully bringing this about.
Which leads to the core question for this Conference – how can the OGP process help make it happen?
In Ireland – as is the case broadly across the EU and Europe – trust and confidence in government and politics is low.
While overall economic conditions, high unemployment and the genuine financial hardship, that households are experiencing explain part of this story.
There are clearly more fundamental and deep-rooted factors at work.
It is something of an irony that in an era where technological and ICT developments have brought a world of information literally to people’s finger-tips, the distance between governments and the governed often never seemed greater.
Based on our experiences to date on this OGP journey, and on all the ideas I’ve heard, and the discussions I have participated in at this meeting, I believe that the OGP is a powerful tool to start breaking down those barriers. As part of this vital process I have published our first Draft OGP National Action Plan, for public consultation. I look forward to us continuing to work together on this important agenda.
Brendan Howlin TD, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Извор: Министерство за јавни трошоци и реформи на Ирска – 09.05.2014
