Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Will the Minister elaborate on the ethics and anti-corruption training available to civil servants? Do participants have an opportunity to study the reports published by the beef tribunal or Flood tribunal into planning corruption in the Dublin area? What precisely do civil servants study when taking part in this training? What is the position in the event that a civil servant becomes aware of a matter such as that investigated in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda where a midwife trained outside the State was brave enough to pursue a wrong? This is the reason we want protection for whistleblowers who are often the only protection available for the public good and interest when an official system acts wrongly. The Minister's only concern is that a Minister might have a bad day out. This is an extraordinary response and I ask him to elaborate.

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