Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to thank the witnesses for their presentations and, indeed, for sharing their strong personal stories with us. I have two brief questions which may be more suited to Ms Grace. We all know that, in many cases, people who have made protected disclosures suffer personal and financial implications and are therefore entitled to access compensation payments. It is also becoming clear that very often, the whistleblower encounters further obstacles when it comes to receiving that compensation, including situations whereby decisions around the application for compensation are being made by the person who was the subject of the protected disclosure.

How important is it to ensure that the compensation mechanisms are made more effective in any new legislation in terms of those who have made disclosures in the past but who have still never received any form of compensation? How important is it that they are able to access compensation under the new legislation?