Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach publishes Report on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2021

The report sets out a total of 60 conclusions and recommendations arising from 26 written submissions received and evidence heard by the Committee in three public hearings held in September and October 2021.

The Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2021 aims to transpose the EU Directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, commonly referred to as the ‘EU Whistleblowing Directive’. The General Scheme of the Bill was referred to the Committee by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in May 2021.

Launching the report, Deputy John McGuinness, Cathaoirleach of the Finance Committee, said: “The issue of protected disclosures is one of vital importance and interest to the Committee, and as such the Committee scheduled an engagement with stakeholders prior to commencing formal scrutiny. Through this preliminary engagement, and throughout its examination of the issue, we heard that although Ireland’s protected disclosure regime is well regarded internationally, there are significant failings in the level of protection and facilitation of whistleblowers in dealing with their claims.

“These failings include lack of information about the progress of an individual’s case, prolonged delays, a lack of transparency about the process, lack of accountability, and obstructions of one kind or another that could be seen as penalisation. The negative impact on these individuals and their lives, careers, families, and people associated with them was clear, and was a recurring theme in the public engagements and submissions received by the Committee during the scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Bill.

“When it is considered that these detriments have resulted from whistleblowers having stepped forward in the public interest, it is plain that amendments need to be made to how protected disclosures are dealt with in Ireland for the sake of disclosers, and for the benefit of society in general, which only stands to gain by the exposition and elimination of wrongdoing.”  

Deputy McGuinness said the Committee sees the forthcoming legislation as a good opportunity to make significant improvements to the operation of the protected disclosure regime, both in terms of improved legislation and through developments in practice. He said the Committee is of the view that the proposed Protected Disclosures Office working in tandem with, but maintaining clear independence, from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will provide the vehicle through which practice can be continually improved and modified.

“To achieve this successfully, the office must be fully staffed and funded from its inception, and any lack of willingness to proceed at pace must be addressed forcefully. The Committee believes that these opportunities must be taken if they are to bring about the necessary improvements sought. It notes and is encouraged by the views expressed by the representatives of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform during their engagement with the Committee, which demonstrated that the Department is taking a rounded view of the issues and is determined to fully understand the issues and challenges that must be overcome in this area,” he said.

On behalf of the Committee, Deputy McGuinness thanked all those who provided submissions and attended meetings of the Committee for their input to the examination of this topic, particularly those who had personal experience of making a protected disclosure.