Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy asked two questions. On whistleblowers, the Protective Disclosures Act, introduced in 2014 by former colleagues of mine, provides a very clear statutory framework within which workers can raise concerns over potential wrongdoings in the workplace that come to their attention. They can do this in the full knowledge that they can avail of significant employment and other protections if they are penalised by their employer or suffer any detriment from making such disclosures. This will not change with the potential changes to the structures within An Garda Síochána. Serving or former members of An Garda Síochána may continue to communicate their concerns through making a disclosure to the Garda Commissioner or, if they do not want to do that through the Garda Commissioner or their employer, they can continue to make that complaint through GSOC, which is the statutory independent body for such investigations, or to me, as Minister for Justice and Equality, or any subsequent Minister for Justice and Equality.

The Act also requires that every public body shall establish and maintain procedures for the making of protected disclosures by workers who are or were employed by the public body for dealing with such disclosures. Those mechanisms and protections will remain in place after the changing of the structures here. I may deal with the board in my next answer. It will not change that for whistleblowers.

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