Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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There is a particular issue I would like to tease out with Mr. Herrick, which specifically relates to that. I would be interested in Mr. Herrick’s views. I have some concerns regarding section 8 of the principal Act. The general scheme contains a provision which attempts to remove the right of a public sector worker to make a protected disclosure to the responsible Minister and the corresponding protections that that worker would get. Given that the principal Act allows such a worker to make a protected disclosure to the relevant Minister, does Mr. Herrick believe that the internal process of investigation was either insincere or was entered into bad faith? One had, in essence, another avenue to blow the whistle if one felt that the internal process was being deliberately dragged out or handled in a stage-managed way. The proposed Bill will remove that avenue, meaning that in most circumstances one would first have to exhaust the internal processes and procedures before going external. We have heard the stories of brave people who have come forward to make protected disclosures. However, people are only human. As we know, many whistleblowers have often faced penalisation. We, as human beings, can only take so much. Would Mr. Herrick agree that this would provide an additional barrier and that many whistleblowers would likely give up before ever reaching the point of going external? I would be interested in his views and those of his colleague on that matter.