Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)

As I indicated on Committee Stage, I agree that it is important to protect officers who wish to report wrongdoing within their organisations in the hope of preventing or stopping such behaviour. To this end, protections are already afforded to civil servants under the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 and the Civil Service code of standards and behaviour introduced last year in accordance with section 10(3) of the 2001 Act.

As Deputies are aware, the Standards in Public Office Commission oversees compliance with the ethics Acts in so far as they apply to office holders, that is, Ministers and Ministers of State, the Ceann Comhairle or Leas-Cheann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann, the Cathaoirleach or Leas-Chathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann, the Attorney General, ministerial special advisers, senior civil servants, etc. The commission is empowered to investigate complaints involving acts or omissions of the powers of these persons where a complainant considers that such person has acted in a manner which is inconsistent with the proper performance of the functions of his or her office or his or her behaviour is contrary to the maintenance of public confidence and the matter in question is one of significant public importance.

The Standards in Public Office Commission is also empowered to investigate complaints about alleged contraventions of the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 to 2001 regarding disclosure of interests and compliance with tax clearance requirements. As far as complaints are made, inter alia, by civil servants against other civil servants, the Act provides at section 5(1) that where a person makes a complaint to the commission in good faith, no cause of action shall lie against the person and no disciplinary action shall be taken against him or her as a result of reporting his or her concerns to the commission. Section 5(4) provides that a person who takes disciplinary action against a complainant in this context will be guilty of an offence and liable to a substantial fine.

In addition, the Act provides at section 5(3) that if a person is dismissed by his or her employer as a disciplinary measure because he or she reported a complaint to the commission, the dismissal will be considered an unfair dismissal for the purposes of the unfair dismissals legislation. This avenue of redress provides an additional protection for civil servants in light of the extension of the unfair dismissals legislation to civil servants, which the Bill effects at section 18.

Further strong protection is offered to civil servants under the Civil Service code of standards and behaviour which applies to all staff in the Civil Service. The code states that no civil servant must ever act in any way which he knows or suspects to be illegal, improper or unethical and that civil servants who have doubts about the legality of a particular action they are required to take in the course of their official duties should refer the matter to their superiors whose responsibility it is to issue a direction on the matter. The superiors in question are bound under the code by the same duties to act within the law as the officers who report to them and are subject to the same sanctions should they breach the instructions set out in the code.

In addition, as Deputy Burton is aware, a whistleblowers protection Bill is on the Government's legislative programme and is being dealt with by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

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