Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2020
1299. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of protected disclosures his Department has received since the legislation was introduced; the number of protected disclosures examined to conclusion by year in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5308/20]
View answerSection 22 of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 requires each public body to publish an annual report setting out the number of protected disclosures received in the preceding year and the action taken. The annual reports for my Department are available on the Department's website at the following link:
https://www.housing.gov.ie/search/archived/current?query=protected%20disclosure .
Since the introduction of the Act, no protected disclosures have been received from workers of my Department.
As set out in the following table, twelve protected disclosures have been received to date from workers of other bodies in relation to which the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government has legislative functions, as provided for under Section 8 of the Act.
|
Year |
Number of Disclosures from Workers of the Department |
Number of Disclosures from Workers of other bodies |
|
2014 |
0 |
0 |
|
2015 |
0 |
1 (Closed) |
|
2016 |
0 |
1 |
|
2017 |
0 |
2 |
|
2018 |
0 |
4 |
|
2019 |
0 |
4 |
|
2020 |
0 |
0 |
The assessment and, if necessary, investigation of disclosures by workers from other bodies is complex, requiring considerable work with the discloser and the other bodies to facilitate a positive outcome.
Assessments and in most instances significant examinations, have been undertaken on these disclosures. To date, one case from 2015 has been brought to a conclusion, the others remain open.
