Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 April 2025
1526. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Justice the number of protected disclosures made internally in An Garda Síochána since the commencement of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014; and of that number, how many were upheld in favour of the confidential reporter in terms of the alleged wrongdoing being disclosed, by year, in tabular form. [18801/25]
View answerThe Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, including the organisation's obligations under relevant legislation such as the Protected Disclosures Act, under section 33 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety (PSCS) Act 2024. The Commissioner is independent in these functions under Section 34 of the PSCS Act.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that the information requested by the Deputy is laid out in the table below. It should be noted that the information supplied is operational and subject to change. Within the figures provided, the number upheld in favour of the confidential reporter has been taken to mean that 'the protected disclosure was accepted as being genuine and in order' following clarification provided by the Deputy.
|
Year |
Number of Protected Disclosures Submissions |
Number deemed to be a Protected Disclosure upon Assessment |
Number upheld in favour of the confidential reporter |
|
2016 |
9 |
6 |
2 |
|
2017 |
17 |
11 |
3 |
|
2018 |
13 |
3 |
1 |
|
2019 |
32 |
15 |
1 |
|
2020 |
12 |
8 |
1 |
|
2021 |
20 |
12 |
1 |
|
2022 |
15 |
10 |
1 |
|
2023 |
26 |
14 |
1 |
|
2024 |
12 |
4 |
1 |
|
2025 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
|
Total |
163 |
84 |
12 |
A new Protected Disclosures Unit was established by the Commissioner in January 2025 within the Garda Professional Standards Unit. Files from pre-2020 are subject to further examination with a number of queries outstanding with Garda Human Resources.
