I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 to 114, inclusive, and 116 together.
The Protected Disclosures Act 2014, which came into effect on 15 July 2014, allows for any employee of a higher education institution (HEI) to make a disclosure to the Chief Executive Officer of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on any matter relating to the funding, planning and development of higher education and research in the State. The Act provides a framework within which employees of HEIs can raise concerns regarding potential wrongdoing in the workplace that has come to their attention and provides appropriate protections if they are penalised by their employer or suffer any detriment for doing so.
The HEA has a process in place for receiving these disclosures and takes appropriate action on any governance issues identified via this process with regard to an HEI. In the event that the HEA is not satisfied by a response received from a HEI which is the subject of a protected disclosure, it can consider recommending to my Department the appointment of an Inspector (in the case of IoTs) or a Visitor (in the case of Universities).
In addition, to complement the existing power to appoint a Visitor in the University sector, I will be seeking Government approval for a new power for the Minister for Education and Skills to appoint an investigator into a University in certain circumstances.
Issues raised by means of Protected Disclosures are taken very seriously by my Department and the HEA.