Brendan Ryan (Dublin North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to see this Bill before the House for debate and equally delighted to have an opportunity to speak on it. It is a pity, but I suppose understandable, that those in opposition are deciding to speak further on GSOC rather than the merits of the Bill and what it sets out to achieve.

This Bill is the delivery on a commitment within the programme for Government to put in place protections for ordinary workers who see injustice and malpractice in their workplace. As the Minister, Deputy Howlin, stated, the publication of this legislation represents a major step in the delivery of the Government's programme of political reform. I agree with him that it provides for the first time a comprehensive whistleblower protection across all sectors of the economy and addresses what has been a significant gap in Ireland's legal framework for combating corruption.

The lives of those born in the past 30 years have been set against a political backdrop in this country of tribunals, corruption, brown envelopes, re-zoning and stroke politics. It is no wonder that the attitude of many young people is so negative towards politics in this country. Who can blame them? The legacy of corruption has left many with the belief, "Ah sure, they are all the same". We are not all the same. There were people, especially in the Labour Party, willing and able to stand up to political corruption. Given my party's strong stance against the worst excesses of political corruption which took place in this country, I am delighted that this Bill is being brought in by a Labour Minister.

This legislation highlights the real difference which can be made when a serious party of the left is in government. It is one thing eternally standing on the sidelines in perpetual protest but, ultimately, that will not deliver real change.

This is important legislation. It is long overdue and it will make a positive difference towards improving transparency and fairness in the country. Most importantly, it provides further protections for ordinary workers. In addition to the reversal of the minimum wage cut, the protection of the JLCs and the upcoming collective bargaining legislation, this Bill is a further strengthening of worker's rights brought in by the Labour Party in government.

This Bill amends the Unfair Dismissals Act 1997 to include the dismissal of a worker for having made a disclosure under the Bill. It also increases the maximum amount of compensation payable by an employer in the case of an unfair dismissal following a protected disclosure, from 104 to 260 weeks remuneration. This Bill also prohibits the penalisation of a worker for making a protected disclosure and there is a non-prescriptive list of penalties contained within it. These are real improvements to workers' rights and protections.

If we are serious about stamping out wrongdoing, we need to empower the ordinary person in Irish society at all levels. Where injustice, malpractice and illegality occur, we need to provide the necessary protections for ordinary people to highlight this and thereby prevent it from happening again.

We have witnessed in the recent past instances whereby the glaring absence of any whistleblower legislation was brought into sharp focus. Five years ago, we saw the example of a figure in the Irish Red Cross losing his job for blowing the whistle on over €160,000 of unspent charitable donations. This money was donated to the Irish Red Cross five years previously in aid of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. A couple of years ago, we saw the example of a woman losing her employment in St. Brendan's Hospital after highlighting a practice of keeping some patients in a locked environment over the Christmas period. These are but two examples which highlight the need for this legislation.

This legislation, when passed, will not of itself end corruption and malpractice in this country. However, as the Irish Human Rights Commission states, it will demonstrate a maturity to accept legitimate criticism and to focus on tackling structural issues in the social, economic and political life of the country.

I look forward to seeing the Bill passed into law. I believe it is a milestone on the road towards a political, economic and financial society which is more transparent and free from corruption. Many of my constituents have said to me that not enough is being done to tackle white-collar crime. This is a good response from Government to tackle this type of crime. I genuinely believe that people will look back at the enactment of this legislation and say this was an important milestone in the fight against white-collar crime. I commend the Minister and the Government for bringing this Bill to the House.

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