Ireland’s former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has revealed that in modern times, politicians and diplomats are committing less information to paper, because they’re mindful of Freedom of Information laws and want to keep the topic of certain discussions confidential.
The remarks were made in a recent interview on the Roasted With Mark Moriarty podcast, during which the ex-Fine Gael leader was describing what it was like to travel to America for the annual St. Patrick’s Day White House visit to meet the US President.
Asked who the Irish Taoiseach generally meets with from the American delegation when his plane lands, Varadkar said that it was typically the US ambassador.
“The ambassador’s going to want to talk to you and fill you in on everything that’s happening – things in the programme, and things that they didn’t want to put in writing,” he said.
“Because anything in writing is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which means less gets written down than would have been the case in the past.”
He added that it was “a good thing for transparency” but “a bad thing for historians.”
Freedom of Information (FOI) laws are mechanisms which grant the public the right to access records held by government bodies, with an aim of promoting political transparency and accountability. These laws typically include provisions for requesting information, with some exemptions to protect sensitive or confidential matters.
Both Ireland and the USA are subject to such laws, as are most Western countries.
Earlier this year, Varadkar resigned as Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael, citing personal and political reasons, and announced that he would not be contesting the general election, stepping back from political life.