Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I too am delighted to introduce this Bill with my colleague Deputy Farrell. I will be brief because she has explained a lot of this already. In my own experience over a number of years in my previous role as spokesperson on mental health, I received a number of protected disclosures and the law was very weak. I raised this issue on numerous occasions with three separate Ministers and a Taoiseach and the reply I got at the time was, "It is a protected disclosure; what do you want me to do with it?" This amending Bill strengthens this whole area and provides clarity. The biggest crux of the issue, both here and in Europe, has been that there has been no guarantee that whoever makes a protected disclosure will be protected. There is also no real mechanism to see whether the issue that is reported is resolved. There is no way of following that up.

From my own experience and Deputy Farrell from hers, the majority of people who make a protected disclosure do it for the betterment and good of their own selves, their companies and society, yet they are punished the most. I have seen people being suspended from work on a number of occasions, and that made me very angry. Deputy Farrell mentioned this Bill would include vexatious proceedings and other statements. The way people in this country have been treated when trying to protect society and tell the truth is that they get absolutely hammered. I appeal to this House and the Upper House to look at this Bill in an empathic way when this goes to the next Stage because these people should never be punished for doing the right thing. I have dealt with so many protected disclosures over the years and this regime has never been amended. A person in a mental institution was left in that situation a number of years ago and the case was never dealt with. The person who made that protected disclosure lost their job and had to go to court three and a half years later just to get what they were entitled to. I am confident and hopeful our Bill will pass all Stages. This Bill will do the right thing for this country, its people and society.

See this speech in context