Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

The Whistleblowers Protection Bill 1999 was a Private Members Bill introduced in the Dáil by Deputy Pat Rabbitte on 15 June 1999. The purpose of the Bill is to provide protection from civil liability to employees who make certain disclosures "reasonably and in good faith" regarding the conduct of the business and affairs of their employers. The Bill aims at prohibiting employers penalising their employees in such circumstances. It also sets out the extensive range of bodies to whom disclosures may be made and the categories of matters where such disclosures are permissible.

The provision of statutory protection for whistleblowers on a sectoral basis would provide a better and more focused approach to dealing with this issue such as in section 4 of the Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 and section 50 of the Competition Act 2002. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004, which is currently before this House, provides for protection against dismissal and penalisation of employees who, in good faith, take steps to protect themselves or others in a workplace situation.

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