Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2020
1334. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of protected disclosures her Department has received since the legislation was introduced; the number of protected disclosures examined to conclusion by year in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5301/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder Section 22 of the Protected Disclosures Act, public bodies are required to prepare a report not later than the 30th June each year setting out the number of protected disclosures made to it in the course of the immediately preceding year and certain other information relating to any such protected disclosures. Reports for the years 2015 - 2018 have been published on my Department's website and are available at
https://www.chg.gov.ie/about/policy-on-disclosure-of-wrongdoing-in-the-workplace/
I am advised that three potential Protected Disclosures have been received by my Department since the introduction of the relevant legislation in 2014. Details of the first of these, the investigation of which concluded that there was no evidence of any wrongdoing having occurred, is included in the 2017 Report. Two complaints were received in 2019, and were in relation to bodies under the aegis of the Department. Of these, the first was deemed not to be a Protected Disclosure within the provisions of the Act and in the second no evidence of any wrongdoing was found.
