Top Tweets for #IrishStateCapture

This article in the Sunday Independent demonstrates a worrying trend in Ireland. We all know and recognise the curated media content in Ireland and how certain topics are treated like heresy. This is yet another example of how ideology and capture can destroy democracy. Appointed officials (not elected) rotate between powerful regulators like ComReg, CRU, CCPC & Data Protection. The public has no say and no easy way to remove them when things go wrong. This is an insulated elite class with high salaries €200K+ job security, where lateral moves creates a permanent bubble of insiders who rarely face real consequences. This creates an environment of dangerous group-think. The same small group have worked together for decades. Shared assumptions, networks and career incentives kill dissent or fresh thinking on regulation, competition, privacy. There is a strong risk of ideological capture, too often seen in Ireland. A democratic deficit - another feature of present day Ireland. Real power shifts from voters to unaccountable technocrats. Continuity sounds good until it becomes capture and stagnation.