Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The terms under which people make informal complaints make specific provision that no one is victimised or intimidated, that his or her career will not suffer, etc. These provisions are written down as part of the regulations that officers investigating complaints must take into account. They must also be taken into account when people are being considered for future promotions. I counted 14 specific anti-bullying measures which are now in place. The ombudsman is now in place.

In response to Deputy Deenihan's earlier question, the Department is undertaking a further comprehensive review. In the context of that comprehensive review, I will ask the group to look specifically at the Deputy's point to see whether there is any evidence and whether we can get figures on the number of informal complaints. Some of the complaints might be about trivial matters which would explain the lack of a record in some cases. I will ask the review group to look at that issue to see whether there is anything further we can do to tighten up on that situation.

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