Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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The Speak Up report has recommended that all organisations have whistleblowing procedures in place and that access to the employment law system is expanded to include all workers who have been penalised for making protected disclosures. Where are the biggest gaps in public bodies, local authorities and private businesses, etc? I ask the witnesses to explain the recommendation that the employment law system should include all workers who have been penalised for making protected disclosures.

The Speak Up report noted that there is a general lack of trust in public institutions in this State, as evidenced in a recent survey on corruption in the EU that was conducted by Eurobarometer. Corruption in this State is viewed by the public to be a significant problem and I was startled that 68% of respondents said that corruption is widespread. Transparency International's division here and its global organisation more generally have dealt with corruption risk in public procurement. I have a particular interest in public procurement. It is an area where significant corruption risks can arise. How do the witnesses view the risks posed to this State's public procurement regime? What risk reduction measures would they like to see introduced?

We have heard that retaliation against healthcare whistleblowers is a common phenomenon and is believed to pose serious risks to patients and safety. Almost 40% of healthcare whistleblowers who contacted the Speak Up helpline between 2017 and 2019 reported that they were penalised after raising concerns about wrongdoing. Recently serious issues were highlighted in the media about the Department of Health collecting information on children with autism, which seems to have taken place completely without the knowledge of the Minister. We know that Ministers are ultimately responsible for their Departments but in reality there are things that they are not aware of. Do the witnesses think something needs to be done to improve accountability, within the Civil Service or elsewhere, when there is an awareness that these things are going on? If so, what recommendations would the witnesses make in regard to this matter?