Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Cross for coming before us. It was a most interesting presentation. If those of us on the outside looking in and arguing for greater transparency had access to every document related to the European Union, would we be able to cope? It is my view that we probably would not. From Dr. Cross's use of the website, is it meta-searchable? Can we cross-reference one search word to drag documents from the different parts of the European Union? Is such a facility available? If it was, what would the pick-up be? I know that Dr. Cross studied for his PhD, but what about the nerds and keyboard warriors sitting in their bedroom late at night looking for things to prove once and for all that it is all a conspiracy and that "they" are out to do us one way or another? I know that the Ombudsman has worked hard on the issue of transparency, but having attended European meetings, I can say that given the sheer volume of documentation produced - as I see Dr. Cross nodding his head, he obviously agrees with me - a person would need to be able to zone in on a specific topic just to follow it to hell and back. Dr. Cross said it all for me when he said that on its own transparency was not the solution to the problem of the democratic deficit.

The democratic deficit is the current threat to the European project. If we had every document under the sun, conspiracy theorists would still believe something was being held back. When one is negotiating, one has to hold documents back. Has Dr. Cross come to any conclusion as to how this will serve the public? Moreover, does the public actually care?