Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 21 March 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence

Work and Priorities of the Defence Forces: Engagement with Chief of Staff

Mr. Se?n Clancy:

The other matter was the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022. A protected disclosure, of course, depends on where it comes in. It is primarily the responsibility of the Department if it comes in on the civil side. Under the Act, however, as the Deputy will be aware, whoever it comes into has a duty of responsibility not to reveal it, to act on it and to establish it, until such time as it can either be discounted as a protected disclosure or we keep progressing it. This is the way we act. We have a protected disclosures office for anything that comes in and is declared under the Defence Forces. Whether a protected disclosure is declared as one or not, it needs to be treated as such initially until it is determined one way or another. This is the approach taken. Likewise, there is a protected disclosures office under the Department of Defence and it takes care of what comes in there. This is the way protected disclosures are treated internally. They are treated under the legislation. We also, of course, under our A7 administration, have our complaints procedure, which covers the grievances under chapters 1 and 2. These cover the extent in this regard from bullying, harassment and sexual harassment under chapter 1, to grievances and complaints under chapter 2. Those aspects are interactive if necessary. Of course, the ultimate end part of this process is through the Office of the Ombudsman, to which reference was made, under that complaints procedure.

The final part of the Deputy's question was on------