Mr. William Beausang:

One brings a case to the Workplace Relations Commission or to the Circuit Court if one has been dismissed and one looks for relief or compensation for having made a protected disclosure. It is, therefore, the discloser who has those rights. Regarding what the institution does, there is no legal responsibility to investigate but, obviously, it is good practice that if one believes the issues are serious, one should have them investigated. Hence, it is not a question of any institution, entity or individual in the organisation that receives the disclosure making a legal determination that it is a protected disclosure. The point that is always made about protected disclosures is that one should forget about the legislation; if a concern is raised, the institution needs to satisfy itself as to the course of action that should be taken.