Katherine Zappone Envoy Gig

Same question Sarah McInerney asked the hapless FGer on Drivetime...how is discussing the appointment of a UN envoy NOT government business?

The hapless FGer dithered and spluttered and eventually and embarrassingly admitted that, yes, it was government business.

Lol, it turns out the reason is far less insidious. Leo was on holiday and they didn't think to ask to check his phone.

As Francie notes, it's a difficult problem FOI-wise. Data is no longer files just stored in filing cabinets or even on a single managed server. It's stored all over the shop, in apps and cloud backups and recorded phone calls.

It tells us that the Oireachtas I.T. services have a ways to go yet to properly get a handle on this. The reality is that TDs' official phones should be restricted to a certain set of apps, ones which are known to be secure and can have their data hoovered up and automatically logged and categorised.

This should then be backed up with legislation that creates an obligation on TDs to ensure any government-related business they conduct outside of the official IT systems (such as on a personal phone or email) is incidental and handed over as soon as possible. A failure to do so should be considered a serious breach by SIPO.

I wouldn't exactly blame a bunch of administrators and personal secretaries in a TD's office to not know about WhatsApp backups or not know how to effectively search databases of data. All of that sh1t should be transparent to them.

Are you seriously suggesting that 'all practical, possible means of finding them' didn't include a phone call to Leo on holidays?

This is a straight up whitewash in a long running abuse of the intended FOI system.

Listen to people like Ken Foxe Ken Foxe (@kenfoxe) / Twitter or Simon McGarr Simon McGarr (@Tupp_Ed) / Twitter on trying to access stuff on our behalf, if you doubt me.

deleted

Horgan Jones asked for correspondence between ministers in relation to the event at the Merrion. Not in relation to the Envoy position. Leo said, "Meeting Zappone on Wednesday".

Like I say, it's an issue with FOI. It's just a bit sh1t when it comes to informal comms.

Classic Leo, one word none discript response (Nope), Katherine must be looking at these images and cringing 😏

@FrancieBrady wrote

Well of course there is. They're texts in a different chat that make no reference to the Merrion. Even if these texts had been in a database, a search for "Zappone" would have brought it up, but the person who found it would have said, "No reference to the Merrion, therefore not relevant". I've been doing this kind of work long enough to know that there are human and technical limitations to finding the right information. Information science is a niche and technical area, and most people are really bad at it; they don't even know it exists.

Well, obviously not. But again, never ascribe to malice, that which is adequately explained by incompetence. The staff member who responded to the FOI request is conveniently "no longer working with the department".

It sounds to me like Varadkar got wind of the FOI requests, realised that these messages had been missed and decided it best that he get them out before anyone else did. I know the journalists are pissed off, but no real harm in the long run (except to the ongoing reputation of FOI requests).

I don't need to read the threads, I have no doubt that there are all sorts of shenanigans with FOI. I have no doubt that communications are manipulated before that stage even so they deliberately won't come up in FOI requests.

This one on the face of it though seems like an oversight. The actual texts make Varadkar look better, if anything, and the reason for them not being included is comical but utterly believable.

I'd be more skeptical if there was anything particularly damning in the texts, but there's not.

The fun thing here is that if the FOI request had been fulfilled properly the journalists in question probably wouldn't have reported on them because there's so little in them.

They might use them for, "Varadkar blindsided by Zappone appointment", but nothing else.

The FOI person got no longer works at the department.

So someone was moved from their job just over a month ago and happened to be involved in this? That's another tall tale it seems. That and the deleting text messages to prevent hacking is doing nothing for FG credibility. More questions to be answered.

@seamus

How is it no real harm, it completely destroys the integrity of the FOI system if someone asks for data that exists and doesnt receive it. What are journalists supposed to do now, state in every single FOI request that if the person who holds the data (Varadkar in this case) is away on holidays then please wait for them to return before processing the data request? That would be absolutely absurd. What is even more absurd is that we now know that any Minister on the end of a FOI request that they dont want made public can use the excuse that they were "on holidays".

Fine Gael hate transparency because transparency like FOI helps journalists to reveal their crony schemes in government. Journalists already had a strong suspicion that the FOI system is designed to fail and this latest episode shows their suspicions are very well grounded. Awkward FOI request? Oh they're on holidays, lovely jubbly, just send a letter saying we looked for the info but couldnt find it.

I find it interesting as well that Varadkar was so quick off the mark to release these text messages to prove his innocence in relation to the Merrion event. He didnt release any text messages to prove his innocence in the leaking of confidential government documents to his friend (not friend) Dr Zero Craic, funny that.