Protected Disclosures Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2019

Tuesday, 23 July 2019

Questions (1261)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

1261. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health the number of protected disclosures for which he has engaged an external consultancy and or legal firm since 2014 to date; the name of the firms engaged; the year and the costs associated with engaging the consultancy and or legal firms in respect of protected disclosures; the way in which persons are protected in cases in which an external consultancy firm is engaged in respect of protected disclosures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32401/19]

Written answers

Minister for Health

My Department engaged three external consultancy firms to assist with five protected disclosures received during this period, as set out in the following table.

All external consultancy firms engaged by my Department must comply with the requirement to protect the identity of the discloser under section 16 of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. Furthermore, when awarding a contract to an external consultancy firm for the provision of services under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, a strong confidentiality agreement between my Department and the contractor is made. This is to ensure that contractor is aware of the obligations under the Act; the information provided to the contractor is only used for the purposes of the contract and the information remains confidential.

Year	Company	Number of Protected Disclosures	Total Cost (inclusive of VAT)
2018	Mazars	2	€23,264.90  €22,140.00*
2017	Resolve Ireland	1	€9,225.00
2017	John Healy B.L.	2	€54,000.00**

* Payment of €2,398.50 (inc. VAT) made to date.

**No payment made to date.