Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

An investigation is being carried out. As I understand it there is a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General and the matter is before the Committee of Public Accounts. It is the Government’s view that the Committee of Public Accounts should do its job and we support the committee in that regard.

We are in the process of bringing legislation forward on whistleblowers. The whistleblower legislation has passed in the Seanad and it will come before this House. As I understand it, the Bill extends the persons to whom information may be brought to their attention to include Members of the Dáil and Seanad. There should not be wrongdoing. Perhaps if we had legislation such as this in the past some of the wrongdoing that has taken place, to which Deputy Mac Lochlainn referred, would not have taken place. It is appropriate that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, is leading for the Government on the legislation because there are few people in this House who understand the situation as well as he does. In his case, information was brought to him about wrongdoing. He did not come to the House and make wild allegations but he sought to bring the information to the attention of the then Minister for Justice and ended up in the courts for his trouble. He was at considerable risk as a result of the entire process. We will now have whistleblowers legislation which will protect whistleblowers so that if people see something being done that is wrong they can bring it to attention and have it addressed. I look forward to seeing the Committee of Public Accounts doing its work on the report it has before it from the Comptroller and Auditor General.

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