About Overwatch Report
Independent analysis, citizen tools, and policy investigation. No investors. No editorial board. No slop.
Who We Are
Overwatch Report is written, built, and published by xbard — a former member of the Irish Defence Forces with operational service overseas, including deployment to Kosovo under both NATO (KFOR) and United Nations mandates.
Since leaving the Defence Forces, xbard has worked in technology and web development. Overwatch Report draws on both backgrounds — applying the analytical discipline of military service to the clarity demanded by good editorial writing and the technical capability to build the tools that accountability requires.
What We Do
Overwatch Report is not just a publication. It’s a platform.
Analysis & Commentary
Analysis, commentary, briefings, and explainers on defence, security, strategic policy, and Irish public affairs. Every piece is editorially directed by its author. AI tools assist research and drafting; the arguments, judgement, and factual claims are the author’s responsibility.
Accountability Tools
- Policy Tracker — how every TD votes across 8 policy domains
- TD Property Dashboard — landlord TDs and their housing votes
- Who Does What — government departments and agencies mapped
- Bills Tracker — every bill before the Oireachtas
- Accountability Toolkit — 60+ OSINT and public record resources
Policy Lab
A cross-party policy comparison tool — the first of its kind in Irish politics.
- Compare Parties — every party’s position on the same issue, side by side
- Search Policies — 46 policies across 8 parties, searchable by topic, audience, and party
- Ireland 2036 — projected impacts over 1, 3, and 5 years with international evidence
- Anti-Corruption Spotlight — the scandal timeline, the cost, and who has a plan
- Party News Feed — press releases auto-tagged to the policies they relate to
EU & Europe
- MEP Tracker — Irish MEPs and their voting records
- EU Votes — European Parliament vote tracking
- Legislation Pipeline — EU legislative procedures in progress
- Political Diary — EU institutional calendar
- Vote Alerts — email notifications for upcoming votes
Citizen Resources
- Citizens Guide — every entitlement, benefit, and service
- Complaint Router — find who to complain to
- Privacy Rights Registry — GDPR-powered anti-doxxing declarations
Campaigns & Investigations
- The Right to Reject — campaigning for “None of the Above” on Irish ballots
- Drug Policy Series — a six-part investigation into cannabis, hemp, and Ireland’s drug laws
- The Social Contract — interactive governance simulator
- Digital Reality — para-social relationship diagnostic
Editorial Approach
There is no syndicated wire copy and no engagement-driven clickbait. Quality over quantity, always. Every article is fully sourced. Every tool is built on public data. Every campaign states its position openly.
We publish under four categories: Analysis (deep examination following the evidence), Commentary (informed opinion stated plainly), Briefing (concise situation reports), and Explainer (background and context).
Independence
Overwatch Report is self-funded, self-hosted, and editorially independent. There are no investors, no editorial board, and no organisation behind it. It’s one person who thought these tools should exist and built them.
The author is a former member of the Social Democrats. That’s disclosed here and on every relevant page. The opinions and analysis on this site are the author’s own and do not represent the party.
The entire platform — every tool, every tracker, every article — is built and maintained by one person. We are based in Ireland and operate under Irish and EU law.
Contact
If you have a tip, a correction, or want to get in touch, use the contact form or the Secure Drop facility for encrypted communication. You can also commission research on a topic that matters to you.