I thank the Independent Deputies for tabling this motion. This is a very important area that needs proper scrutiny and debate. I very much welcome the whistleblowers who are with us today in the Public Gallery. I thank them and indeed every whistleblower for the service they have given to the country. Their bravery and courage should be supported by all of us. They act in the public interest and their role in democracy is incredibly important. I do not think that was recognised sufficiently in the comments made by the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. There did not seem to be any recognition from the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, that whistleblowers are often penalised, smeared, blacklisted and persecuted. Is he and the Government not aware of this or simply not concerned about this? He was incredibly quick to leave after he made his contribution. He could not leave the Chamber quick enough. He did not want to stay around and hear any of the further contributions on this. Whistleblowers have had their lives destroyed and even lost. There have been untold mental health repercussions for people who have done the right thing by coming forward to expose waste, corruption and wrongdoing. If the Government was serious about tackling waste, corruption and wrongdoing, it would be very serious about protecting whistleblowers. That is not what we heard from the Minister of State earlier. We owe a debt of gratitude to whistleblowers. At the very least, there should be strong and proper protections for all whistleblowers. The integrity at work survey in 2023 found that 50% of women and 37% of men who said they reported wrongdoing suffered consequences. They are startlingly high figures. There was no recognition of that in the comments from the Minister of State. He seems to be oblivious to it or simply does not care. That is an incredibly high amount of people coming forward and reporting wrongdoing who are being persecuted and suffering negative consequences as a result, yet we do not hear from the Government about any immediate or urgent action it is going to do about that. We know the level of persecution and negative consequences is lower for staff in organisations where there is external advice and support made available either through being a member of a union, the speak-up helpline or other supports. It is really important that employers make their employees and potential whistleblowers aware of those supports. They are not enough to mitigate the negative consequences, but they do help. The Taoiseach's comments on 12 November on the role of Ministers in terms of protected disclosures made to Ministers were misinformed and very worrying. I call on the Minister to clarify those comments. If we have misinformed commentary on whistleblower legislation being made at the head of Government, it sends out a very serious signal to the rest of the country. That needs to be urgently clarified. There are a number of things that can be done now to improve the situation for whistleblowers. For example, legal aid to whistleblowers should be extended. That is envisaged in the EU whistleblowing directive. It has not been done. We need to be fully compliant with the directive. While there is free legal advice and counselling available, the lack of free legal aid is a major flaw. It should be brought in straight away. The cap on compensation for whistleblowers under the protected disclosures Act should be removed. Awards should be made only on the principle of what is just and equitable. That cap particularly discriminates against low-paid workers who come forward and workers in the financial services sector where significant amounts of remuneration come through bonuses. That is not taken into account with that cap. I do not think that cap should apply to anyone. It should be based on what is just and equitable, but it particularly penalises low paid workers and people who come forward from the financial services who receive bonuses. There should be proper training around whistleblowing and protected disclosures law for adjudicators in the Workplace Relations Commission. There is clearly insufficient knowledge of the legislation there. Fundamentally, we need to enact the long-awaited public sector standards Bill to provide ethics training for all public officials. That Bill was brought forward in 2015; ten years later, we are still waiting. Why is the Government doing this? It is straightforward. There is nothing controversial in it. Why has it not been brought forward ten years later? What on earth is it waiting for? The lack of enforcement powers for the office of protected disclosures needs to be addressed. For example, we have seen that the Dental Council failed to act in a very serious situation. The lack of enforcement powers means there is nothing that can be done when a body chooses not to act after serious issues have been uncovered. The issue of continuous penalisation needs to be addressed in the legislation. Workers can and often are penalised beyond the six-month or one-year in exceptional circumstances that is allowed for in the Act. However, when that happens, there is no protection or provision for them in the legislation. This time limit should run from the date of the last instance of penalisation. That would make it fairer, but even then, you have to take into account that it can take time for people to come forward. When they are penalised, it can be shocking and traumatic. It can take time for someone to process that and then take time for them to talk to friends, family, the union or workplace supports. It can also then take time for them to figure out what they need to do. Even at that, there needs to be sufficient time given. People do not expect to be in or dealing with these situations. It can take time for them to work through what is going and to realise there are protections in the legislation. Short timeframes can be very prohibitive. The Office of Protected Disclosures Commission has identified a number of areas where there are gaps in the regulatory and oversight framework. These include private congregated residential settings, home support services, non-professionals working in GP and dental practices and accommodation centres for people seeking international protection. These gaps need to be urgently addressed. Challenges in terms of transmitting disclosures in local authorities have also been identified. That needs to be addressed. Furthermore, some prescribed persons, public and private, are failing to ensure that their protected disclosure channels are clearly visible and readily accessible. That is a major failing in the implementation that needs to be addressed. There is the issue of bodies failing to act. For example, if a person making the protected disclosure is anonymous, serious allegations are not followed up on. This is completely wrong, and the legislation needs to be changed to ensure that cannot happen. There needs to be a legal requirement to act on useful and verifiable information from anonymous sources. Some public bodies do that, but it is not taking place across the board and has to happen. The Act does not oblige recipients to follow up on anonymous disclosures. They are often ignored or the recipient declines to take action. Recipients should follow up in circumstances where there is proper information and where it shows there could be relevant wrongdoing. This does not necessarily require a change to legislation. It could be enough for the Minister to revise the statutory guidance on this, making it clear that information must be assessed and investigated where it tends to show relevant wrongdoing, irrespective of whether the identity of the whistleblower is known. Indeed, where it happens, efforts should be made to communicate with the anonymous whistleblower in order to build up trust. This can be a particular issue and can take time, particularly more so with women where it can take maybe more time to move from being anonymous. Public bodies are expected to accept anonymous disclosures under statutory guidance. However, this has to be extended to employers in the private and not-for-profit sectors. There is a huge amount that needs to be done and this needs to be taken very seriously by the Government. The response by the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, did not show an intent by the Government to take this with the seriousness that is needed. It was really disrespectful and a slap in the face to whistleblowers who have been persecuted and penalised. I hope that the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, shows them in his remarks the recognition that is needed and that he shows the urgency needed to address this.

Sentiment score: 0.06