Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the reply and for promising the update. With regard to precarious employment, we will have another group to look at it. Surely the mechanisms are already there. We are reliant on thejournal.ieand whistleblowers coming forward to tell us the position, or I have to go forward as a Deputy under freedom of information. Surely all of this should be at the Minister's fingertips. Surely this is what we should be working towards.

With regard to Limerick and, indeed, Galway and the other universities, I have to say whistleblowers have a particularly difficult time in Ireland. While we may have brought in legislation to facilitate it we have not had a sea change on it. It seems with regard to each institution, and I will not single out any one, if it does not round on the whistleblowers it certainly isolates them, sends them to Coventry and makes their lives difficult. All of the time it seems to be about protecting the institution and not valuing the information coming forward and dealing with it speedily and effectively.

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