Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)

I compliment the Minister on this comprehensive and technical amendment. The fact he was in a position to introduce it before the Bill was finalised in the House is welcome. It was probably the one area of weakness in the legislation we all identified when it was published. The description of penalisation is broad, ranging from dismissal to discrimination, which, I presume, will cover reference letters when somebody leaves employment. It is comprehensive and the message needs to go out that if individuals are involved in this activity, their colleagues will not only have a responsibility to report it but they will have protection and, therefore, there will be no excuse for not reporting white collar crime.

If legal eagles find a way around it, we can address that when we deal with the more comprehensive whistleblower legislation. It is probably not a bad thing that the provision is being included now because any discrepancies in it will be highlighted. I welcome the amendment. Is the Minister hoping to get the legislation through the other House as well before the recess?

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