Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

On behalf of the Fine Gael, I thank the Labour Party for its exemplary Whistleblowers Bill, which was supported by my party. We are pleased that the Government accepts the need for this legislation.

I hardly need to present any evidence to the House on the need for whistleblower legislation because the matter has been in the public domain for such a long time. Dodgy deals in high places, corrupt officials with too much power and shady goings-on in our most trusted institutions are common revelations in the media. During previous debates on this legislation, Fine Gael made the point that it should include some supports for employees to obtain confidential legal advice as to whether they should proceed further with complaints. It would be better if an employee could be guaranteed that a complaint had substance by obtaining advice from a third party.

Other jurisdictions have whistleblower hotlines that people may contact to state that they are working in a company where something is happening about which they are concerned and ask whether they should go further with their complaint. These supports should be available throughout the entire whistleblower process. There is no point in passing this type of legislation if employees are left hanging.

We pointed out that employees were to be defined in the same way as in the 1984 Act. This would exclude many people, including students. If a student in a third level institution discovered something radically wrong, would he or she be protected? This aspect is covered in the equivalent British legislation and we should examine it.

I wish to refer to recent scandals in financial institutions. Although not a matter of life and death, revelations of sharp practices, overcharging and daylight robbery by banks brought shame and disgrace to the industry. These revelations, however, were vital to ensuring that trust could be restored and that consumers obtain a fair deal. Both AIB and National Irish Bank were the centre of these revelations. National Irish Bank was in the spotlight for a litany of difficulties, ranging from overcharging customers to assisting them in evading tax. AIB, our largest financial institution, issued three reports detailing how it overcharged customers in a range of areas by more than €34 million.

What occurred in that financial institution is amazing. The currency converter machines used by bank staff to calculate transactions had been adjusted to reduce the rate of commission charged, from one percentage point to 0.5 of a percentage point, in the days before what was then IFSRA contacted the bank. The Irish Times reported that the bank confirmed that staff working on the foreign exchange counters were not informed why the machines were being altered. Had the error not been made public, it is likely customers would never have known that they had been overcharged. The Irish Bank Officials Association said at the time that its members were demoralised and disgusted to learn of what took place.

The revelations of wrongdoing at AIB and NIB were brought to public attention by staff who decided to report them. Staff in both banks felt unable to raise such matters within their organisations and sought to bring attention to them through the media or the regulator. The IBOA general secretary, Mr. Larry Broderick, told the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service that bank employees work in a culture of fear and are frightened of speaking out on any issue because they are concerned that it will damage their career prospects. What has the Government to say to them now? What will it say to the thousands of bank workers who leave their jobs every year, jobs once considered safe and well paid?

It is not only financial institutions that have been at fault. The Government gave us PPARS, on which a loyal citizen and worker blew the lid. A whistleblower in the HSE was approached last year and entrusted with the task of telling the nation of the PPARS scandal, which cost taxpayers €160 million and which still does not work.

Today we heard details of another scandal relating to the smart card for travellers. Some €16 million has gone to waste to develop an integrated ticket for public transport. I understand that the computer software programme developed for this project must now be scrapped. A sum of €9.5 million went to waste on investigating a smart card system for the Luas and now we hear that a further €16 million has gone down the tube. Numerous people, organisations and issues of concern could be dealt with if that money was available to them.

We recently debated the dreadful impact of the actions of Dr. Neary in Drogheda. The culture of pressure and secrecy and employees' fear of damaging their prospects, as exposed by the Neary affair, is endemic in many hospitals. It is an issue that must be dealt with so that people who are concerned about services, activities, procedures or other issues relating to patient safety can expose difficulties. Of course, protection must be provided to ensure that nobody is incorrectly or mischievously named in connection with any difficulty. We must ensure the accuracy of statements.

Who knows how much earlier the rank corruption at local government level would have been revealed had whistleblowers protection been in place? Fine Gael implores the Government to pass this legislation as soon as possible. My party will not delay the legislation but reserves the right to offer its suggestions on improvements to it. Fine Gael thanks and congratulates the Labour Party and Deputy Rabbitte for the work they have done in bringing this issue forward and will be pleased to continue to support them in the passing of this Bill. I am glad that the Government has decided to accept it.

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