Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will certainly do so. We are bringing forward this legislation in tandem with the freedom of information legislation as part of an overarching development of policy. The whistleblowing legislation has to be understood by people. One of the criticisms I have made during the years of the sectoral approach of previous Governments is that the more variance there is, the less likely it is that individual workers will understand how whistleblowing provisions should operate and what protections apply on a uniform basis. That is why this overarching legislation is important. The issue the Deputy has raised relates to this concern of requiring that policy to be understood. Within the public sector, under the legislation, we can determine public policy on whistleblowing, which must be followed by any organisation, including voluntary organisations, in receipt of State funding. I will reflect further on how this can manifest more clearly such that people will know, as a matter of policy, that there must be a channel for whistleblowing in any organisation that receives State moneys and - again, as a matter of policy - that there can be no detriment for people who utilise that channel. However, fitting volunteers into the architecture of a legal structure where they would be seeking a monetary award or have their status restored is not, in my judgment, possible.