Mr. John Farrelly:

On behalf of the Mental Health Commission, MHC, I thank the committee for the opportunity to address it. I am joined by my colleagues, Orla Keane, general counsel for the Mental Health Commission and the decision support service and Joanna Macklin, decision support service senior panel manager and protected disclosures officer and recipient.

As part of the MHC's strategic plan up to 2022, our vision is the highest-quality mental health and decision support services underpinned by a person's human rights. We welcome the introduction of clear and enhanced protected disclosure procedures that will assist in protecting these individual human rights and bring us forward into a more transparent Ireland.

The principal functions of the MHC under the Mental Health Acts are to promote, encourage and foster the establishment and maintenance of high standards and good practices in the delivery of mental health services and to take all reasonable steps to protect the interests of persons detained in our approved centres. As a regulator, we welcome any legislative provisions which will support staff and other parties to raise concerns about the safety and quality of care for patients and other vulnerable service users throughout our country.

The remit of the MHC was extended by the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, which provides for the establishment, we hope, of the decision support service. The latter will support decision-making by and for adults with capacity difficulties and will regulate individuals who are providing support to people with capacity difficulties. It is the MHC's hope that this Bill will result in a continuing of the change in attitude to protected disclosures in the workplace by ensuring there are sufficient safeguards and protections. Organisations in that way will be less apprehensive of the possibility of false or vexatious disclosures and, most importantly, individuals will be empowered to expose wrongdoing without fear of retaliation.

In considering the general scheme of the protected disclosures (amendment) Bill 2021, we have confined ourselves to commenting on matters within our remit. In that context, the MHC welcomes the retention of the existing obligation that all public bodies must establish internal reporting channels. This is in line with section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act, which requires all public bodies to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and protect human rights in carrying out their functions. The MHC recommends that there be the possibility of local authorities and smaller public bodies pooling resources and sharing internal reporting channels. After all, it is our State's money and it is possible to do it. We have seen it in other areas. Over the past ten years or more, there have been increased obligations in the area of compliance. This proposal would allow for centralised expertise, increased efficiency, assistance with training and reduced costs for smaller agencies and, ultimately, help the person who wants to try to identify the wrongdoing.

The establishment of a protected disclosures office within the Office of the Ombudsman is a further proposal that the MHC especially welcomes. This centralised system is critical and should ensure consistency in reporting, investigation and communication. In addition, the MHC believes that this centralised office could provide supports to and guidelines for public bodies and people who want to identify wrongdoing. At the same time, it may be appropriate to make strengthened provisions for public bodies to decline or to redirect a protected disclosure where they do not believe it is within their remit.

The MHC notes that a number of issues need to be addressed: clarification on the issue of legal aid, the limits to liability of reporting persons, the timeframe for disclosure of a wrongdoing, limiting protected disclosures from job applicants and establishing more details on penalties under the Bill.

The MHC supports the transposition of the directive through the proposed amendments to the Protected Disclosures Act, which shall enhance the protections and scope available. We hope that doing this will continue to develop a more transparent, open Ireland where wrongdoing is identified and eliminated.