Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Rabbitte's Bill addressed an area of major importance to the public. However, as my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, noted last night, a number of difficulties have arisen with regard to the original proposal. While extensive work was done on redrafting the original Bill, attempts to protect whistleblowers on the basis of a single comprehensive statute have proven exceptionally difficult. This is hardly surprising, given that similarly comprehensive legislation introduced elsewhere has had to be revisited.

In this regard, a number of complex legal issues arose in the following areas: the need to have regard for the Central Bank's confidentiality regime and EU legislation in this area; the Official Secrets Act 1963 and its implications for civil servants; the protection of trade secret type industrial processes, as well as interaction with intellectual property rights; and the nature of the protections afforded to whistleblowers under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 1993. In light of these issues, the Government believes the provision of statutory protection for whistleblowers on a sectoral basis provides a better and more focused approach to enabling proper and protected disclosure on information.

Important legislation has already been enacted in this area. Section 4 of the Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 provides immunity from civil liability to persons who report child abuse reasonably and in good faith. Under the Ethics in Public Office Act 2001, the Standards in Public Office Commission is 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. Section 50 of the Competition Act 2002 provides that a person shall not be liable for damages in respect of the communication, whether in writing or otherwise, by him or her to the Competition Authority of his or her opinion that an offence under section 6 or 7 of the Act has been or is being committed or any other provision of the Act that prohibits an undertaking from a particular action has not been or is not being complied with, unless it is proved that he or she has not acted reasonably and in good faith in forming that opinion and communicating it to the authority. The 2002 Act also provides that an employer shall not penalise an employee for having formed an opinion of the kind referred to in section 50(1) of the Act and communicated it, whether in writing or otherwise, to the authority if the employee has acted reasonably and in good faith in forming that opinion and communicating it to the authority.

Other more recent legislative initiatives in this regard include section 27 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, which came into effect from 1 September 2005 and which provides for protection against dismissal and penalisation of employees who in good faith take steps to protect themselves or others in a workplace situation. I brought this legislation through the Houses last summer because I was anxious to ensure protection for workers who brought attention to health and safety issues in their workplaces. Section 124 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 provides for regulations on the reporting of corruption and malpractice in the Garda Síochána. In addition, the Minister tabled a Government amendment to provide for a whistleblower section in the Employment Permits Bill which is currently on Committee Stage.

It should be acknowledged that Deputy Rabbitte's Bill attempts to address an issue of public concern. At issue is how best to achieve his Bill's aims and whether it is better to provide for them through one comprehensive Bill or by means of a sectoral approach.

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