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Protected Disclosures

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021

Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Questions (330)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

330. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the drafting of legislation to transpose the EU whistleblowing directive into law; his plans to ensure that local elected representatives will be covered by protections for whistleblowers under the new legislation; his further plans to ensure that all public and private workers and volunteers will be covered by protections for whistleblowers under the new legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26061/21]

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Written answers

Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law ("the Whistleblowing Directive") was adopted in October 2019 and Ireland has until 17 December 2021 to transpose it into Irish law. Ireland already has comprehensive whistleblower protection legislation in place in the form of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. Transposition of the Directive will require amendments to the 2014 Act.

In this regard, on 12 May 2021, following approval from Government, I published the General Scheme of a Bill to amend the Protected Disclosures Act to give effect to the Directive. The General Scheme has now been referred to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach for pre-legislative scrutiny and also to the Attorney General to commence formal drafting of the Bill for presentation to the Oireachtas later this year. 

The Protected Disclosures Act already provides protections from retaliation for workers in the public and private sectors who speak up about wrongdoing in the workplace. The proposals I have set out in the General Scheme will - in accordance with the requirements of the Directive - provide for the extension of the personal scope of the Act to volunteers and also shareholders, board members and job applicants. 

The question the Deputy raises as to the application of the Directive to local elected representatives is a legally complex matter and will be considered in detail in the context of the drafting of the Bill.

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