Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 10:

In page 12, line 21, to delete “(f)” and substitute “(e)”.

These amendments go to the heart of the changes we want to make. At the conclusion of the Second Stage debate, I indicated that work involving officials from my Department and their counterparts from the Department of Justice and Equality was under way in order to determine how best to ensure that the legal framework for Garda whistleblowers under the 2005 legislation is fully aligned with the principles enshrined in this new and overarching Bill in order that we might provide comprehensive protection for such individuals. As I indicated, the priority must be to ensure that the legal framework is fully effective, that it works, that it protects members of An Garda Síochána and that it is consistent with the general principles of the Bill before us. Those principles apply to all workers. I am, therefore, pleased to propose amendments, the combined effect of which will be to provide for what I term the mainstreaming of An Garda Síochána for the purposes of the Bill.
There are three distinct elements required in order to bring members of An Garda Síochána fully within the ambit of the protected disclosures legislation. The first of these is the ending of the separate and distinct arrangement provided for in the Garda Síochána Act, the purpose of which is to allow for the making of confidential reports. The change required in this regard is addressed in amendment No. 18. The second element is ensuring that members of the force have access to the same redress provisions as all other workers in the State. This is addressed in amendments Nos. 11 and 12. The third element involves the making of any consequential amendments arising and this is addressed in amendments Nos. 13 and 14.
In light of the sequence I have just outlined, it might be helpful for me to address amendment-----