Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are two issues of concern from the public's point of view. The first is that the infrastructure is safe and that the networks are safe but there is a related issue. I accept that the witnesses have said that it is the ESB's policy to allow for a whistleblower to come forward whereby an issue is brought to the attention of the company internally. The television programme raised questions about that which I will not go into for legal reasons. There is only a certain amount we can say. We cannot deal specifically with an individual case or identify an individual. The witnesses can understand the concerns of members of the public who saw the programme. The key issue is that safe practices are employed by the ESB, that the company is professional in the way it carries out its business and that when something is wrong, to paraphrase the witnesses, people do not turn a blind eye. The ESB depends on its workers to put up their hands and say there is a problem. The key issue is that they would not be shown the door and the problem would be brushed under the carpet.