Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I look forward to seeing the reply. I believe it was 1999 when I introduced my Whistleblowers Protection Bill. I never had explained to me or I never received any letter from the Minister stating why the advice from the Attorney General was to the effect that there were legal impediments in the way of a general whistleblowers protection Act and that the Government had resolved on a sectoral approach. I have never understood this and I do not know why we would be reluctant in this regard, given the careful manner in which it is framed, whereby a person giving false, mischievous, vexatious or frivolous information exposes himself or herself to committing an offence. I do not know why we cannot do it or are not doing it.

Deputy Shatter has given explicit examples. He did not touch on, for example, the entire area of the hospital system, which is familiar to the Acting Chairman. It is not just that millions of euro of taxpayers' money might have been saved if we had whistleblower protection but perhaps a great deal of pain and anguish for so many people in our hospitals would have been prevented if conscientious people working in the hospitals felt their employment was protected in the context of bringing misconduct or dereliction of duty to the attention of the relevant authority.

This seems to be the last opportunity we will have to import this into a Bill that would have general application. I had hoped the Minister would have agreed to do so.

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