Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform

General Scheme of a Public Sector Standards Bill: Discussion (Resumed)

2:00 pm

Dr. Elaine Byrne:

I referred to the ethics commissioner in Canada and the Office of the Whistleblower in the United States, which was introduced under the Dodd-Frank Act. My colleagues here have correctly identified that there are perhaps difficulties with fragmentation in terms of who whistleblowers may contact.

I was focused on something more controversial, namely, that whistleblowers would be paid for giving the information. In America, they get a percentage of the fines that are levied on financial institutions for their information.