Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In the context of the remarks made by Deputies Howlin and Micheál Martin and the new arrangements the Government has been making for Garda oversight, it seems that the head of an Garda Síochána was very often the recipient of disclosures, which put the whistleblower in an almost impossible position. That was certainly the position in the case to which reference was made. Has the Taoiseach given consideration to whether one of or both the new oversight body and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, the two bodies that will oversee the Garda, will be the appropriate location for the making of protected disclosures? In an area such as the security services where people must work very closely together the making of a complaint may be communicated to others in the organisation, with very difficult consequences for the would-be whistleblower. We must consider how we can engender a structure which is effective and fair and allows an organisation to deal with protected disclosures in the most appropriate manner such that they are heard and and given proper consideration.

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