Ms Orla Keane:

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak. Regarding the issue of supports, we made a submission to the Department in 2020. In that document, we stated that when looking at such supports that it is necessary to determine if those supports will be the difference between someone making a protected disclosure or not. If it is, then those supports must be provided. We went on to refer to a report from the European Commission that looked at the cost-benefit analysis in this regard. That showed that it was in everybody's favour to provide such supports. Therefore, the cost of doing so was outweighed by the benefits. I apologise to the members of the committee because I have not reviewed whether there is an updated report on that issue. It is important information, however, because much of the time when people are discussing supports, and especially in the case of the Government, getting value for money is an important consideration. In that context, though, there must be an examination of what supports will ensure that more protected disclosures are made and if those protected disclosures will ensure that there will be less wrongdoing. That is an important and useful perspective. Regarding the supports, as well, they may be financial but they could also be psychological. We should not necessarily pigeonhole them into one box. It would be very useful if the new office was given the power to provide those supports and was funded to do so.