Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that response. I am not sure if anybody else wants to comment on the matter. I have some experience with whistleblowers in the financial sector. There is no incentive for whistleblowing, but it is my firm view that for some of the wrongdoing within the financial sector, somebody on the inside is required to tell the story, or otherwise we cannot get to the crux of the matter. A financial incentive should be considered in the context of gains that would be recouped to the State from a successful prosecution and the stamping out of the activity in question.

I accompanied a number of whistleblowers to the Central Bank of Ireland a number of years ago. They were whistleblowers within the moneylending sector. They were directly employed and blew the whistle about practices in the sector. That led to the highest ever award being made against a company where a whistleblower had acted, which stretched to hundreds of thousands of euro. All the individuals who accompanied me to the Central Bank that day to provide that information, which led to the fine, lost their jobs.

What would the witnesses say to somebody in that position? Does this strengthen their rights or the protections involved? Is it the reality that no matter what is written on paper, these individuals in the financial sector are taking a risk in coming forward? There is also another problem because the information may be given to the Central Bank but the bank never communicates afterwards because it the investigation would be life. The bank will not say if it will prosecute or if it reached an agreement with the entity being investigated. A whistleblower is left completely in the dark about the progress or outcome of the investigation. He or she would read about it like any other citizen if a prosecution, administrative sanction or any other sanction is taken by the Central Bank against the entity.