I welcome the courageous individuals in the Gallery who stood up, such as Maurice McCabe, John Barrett and Ciarán Kenneally. These people and many others, including the Women of Honour, have done a tremendous service to the State. They showed incredible courage and conviction. In every case, the State used every lever in its power to smear these individuals. I rise with a heavy heart and a sense of responsibility. What we are addressing here is not a technical matter. It is an indictment of the State by the people who stood up to protect the State. I want to highlight the horrific experience of the members of the Defence Forces, the Justice Alliance and the Women of Honour. This case is a systematic failure embedded over many years by silence made possible by the State that looked after itself before justice. The Defence Forces Justice Alliance submitted more than 50 protected disclosures. These disclosures included reports of bullying, harassment, abuse, sexual assault and institutional wrongdoing. Many of these disclosures related to the Minister and senior officials within the Department. The protected disclosures were sent to the very Department and the very senior figures implicated in the allegations. The playbook is at hand here again and the inquiry was closed at a preliminary stage. We know the wrongdoing did not stop. It continued. People who had served with honour and courage were left discouraged, silenced and in many cases traumatised over and over again. They became convinced that the protected disclosure legislation was not fit for purpose. There are many more examples. There was a clear message right across the Defence Forces because people saw what happened to those who spoke up and many others stayed silent. I raise the devastating case of Ciarán Kenneally, a man with great courage who stood up and highlighted issues in terms of financial irregularity in relation to Tusla in Cork. In 2019, he made a protected disclosure about gross mismanagement, bullying and potential irregularities in the Tusla office in Cork. Instead of being protected and the case being investigated and highlighted, he was left without pay, unable to access social welfare because Tusla struck him off, gave him zero pay slips and refused to engage with him. It refused to accept his resignation letter because it highlighted problems and difficulties within Tusla. However, what followed was worse. Internal records, released only after the WRC settlement, showed that Tusla staff had contacted his private therapist without consent, conducted unauthorised background checks on him and even falsely suggested he posed a danger to vulnerable children. This is what happens to whistleblowers in this country. It was a smear campaign. An internal investigation dismissed his original concerns. Yet, a former staff member has since confirmed that financial oversight issues did exist in Tusla at that time and also found derogatory language was used against him. A separate internal investigation took place. Two weeks ago he filed a second protected disclosure detailing concealed data, retaliatory actions and corroborated evidence. After seven years, the damage to him professionally, personally and emotionally is profound. This is a failure of a State agency to uphold the very principles it claims to protect: fairness, due process and safety for those who speak up in the public interest. This cannot happen. We must stand up and protect individuals who stand up in the interest of the State.

Sentiment score: 0.12