Dr. Elaine Byrne:

They only get a percentage of the fines that have been levied when the allegations have been proven in a court case. In Australia, the authorities are looking at similar initiatives, as are those in the UK following the recent Barclays scandal. This is where the international debate on ethics stands but we are not talking about these matters in Ireland because our discussions on ethics tend to respond to what has happened in the past rather than to focus on the present. There may or may not be merit in having an office of the whistleblower - it could be located within the Standards in Public Office Commission or the Office of the Ombudsman - but these issues are not actually being discussed at all.

The proposed legislation is very welcome because it will streamline a lot of things but some of the general issues around ethics are just not being discussed at all.