I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 and to provide for related matters.
I am delighted to be introducing this Bill with my colleague Deputy Buckley. I will first say a few words on what motivated us to craft this Bill. In 2014, this State introduced the Protected Disclosures Act. This was badly needed in a State such as this, where transparency and accountability are words that are regularly invoked but seldom made a reality. Often, when people in this society try to reveal wrongdoing, there is a reflexive reaction on the part of those in authority to think of the reputation of the organisation first and crush those who are trying to blow the whistle. In many ways whistleblowers can be seen as the ethical spirit within an organisation pushing back. They are people who to try to reveal wrongdoing in the public interest and, as a consequence, often pay a very high price.
Unfortunately, the protected disclosure regime has a number of weaknesses. Compounding this were our concerns that the Government’s new amending Bill could weaken protections even further. That is why an Teachta Buckley and I have brought forward this Bill. It was crafted in consultation with legal practitioners, academics lecturing on whistleblowing and whistleblowers themselves. It will do a number of things we believe will help protect those who try to reveal wrongdoing, support the public interest and help them win the redress they often deserve. It will broaden the definition of penalisation to include hindering or attempting to hinder further reporting and vexatious proceedings against a discloser. Where an employee alleges penalisation as a result of making a protected disclosure, the burden of proof will now lie with the employer to demonstrate this is not the case. The Bill also broadens the definition of employee to include those working in volunteer organisations, associated persons and journalists. It will make an offence any attempt to hinder or penalise any person for making a protected disclosure. It will provide free legal aid and psychological services for whistleblowers. It removes the limitations on financial compensation that whistleblowers can win by way of redress.
Importantly, the Bill will further empower the Minister to gather all documents relevant to a protected disclosure made to him or her, regarding his or her Department or bodies under its aegis, and to pass this information on to the Attorney General in connection with the conduct of legal proceedings on behalf of the State. It will also require the Minister to lay before the Oireachtas an annual statistical protected disclosures report. Last, it satisfies the mandatory reporting requirements and other sections of the EU’s whistleblowing directive. As one of the world’s greatest whistleblowers Edward Snowden once said, "The sad truth is that societies that demand whistleblowers be martyrs often find themselves without either, and always when it matters the most."
