Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach to resume pre-legislative scrutiny of General Scheme of Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021

The meeting at 12.30pm in Committee Room 1 of Leinster House will discuss the Heads of the Bill with representatives of the Bar of Ireland, the Mental Health Commission and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy John McGuinness said: “We have already heard the views of whistleblowers on this important legislation, which proposes to transpose into Irish law the EU Whistleblowing Directive by amending the existing Protected Disclosures Act. The Bill proposes to bring volunteers, unpaid trainees, board members, shareholders and job applicants under the scope of the Act, and also extend the requirement to establish formal channels and procedures for their employees to make protected disclosures to private sector companies with more than 50 employees. The Committee now looks forward to discussing the Heads of the Bill with these other key stakeholders.”

The Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach has 13 Members, nine from the Dáil and four from the Seanad.

The meeting in Committee Room 1 can be viewed live on Oireachtas.ie.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.