Results 23,021-23,040 of 26,705 for speaker:John McGuinness

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: I welcome our guests. We are joined by: Mr. Seamus Clarke SC, vice chairman, and Mr. Raphael O'Leary BL, junior counsel, from the Bar of Ireland; Mr. Ray Merrick, executive director, and Mr. Ronan Kennedy, policy officer, from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties; and Mr. John Farrelly, chief executive, Ms Orla Keane, general counsel, and Ms Joanna Macklin, senior panel manager, from the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: I call Deputy Durkan.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: Does Deputy Durkan wish to conclude? The Deputy is on mute.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: Is there any data available on the issues raised by Deputy Durkan? The answer is "No".

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: I have some questions for our guests. How many cases have ended up in court arising from the current legislation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: Okay. The one case Mr. Clarke mentioned relates to the private sector. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: Is Mr. Clarke aware of the use of mediation in this process? How successful does he think it is in the context of current legislation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: Do our guests know how many cases may have been settled without going to court, or on the steps of the court, that included a clause restricting any discussion about the settlement or the issue?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: In the main, we seem to be dealing with cases involving Departments or State agencies. They relate to the State itself. One of our guests mentioned power and authority. That power and authority is seen to the greatest extent in cases involving the State. It has the ability to stall the case, destroy an individual or hide the consequences of actions. It appears to me, from the concerned...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: I will take Mr. Kennedy up on that point, and I encourage others to contribute. This proposed Bill is being put forward in the Minister's name, but it was, by and large, written by civil servants. These are the very same civil servants who set out to protect the State at all costs, using taxpayers' money, and to vilify the person making the protected disclosure. In trying to get the best...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: I will put another question to the witnesses. This is again based on a real example of someone who made a protected disclosure. I am again asking how we can deal with this issue. It was mentioned that a person making a protected disclosure was named. That person was named at the Committee of Public Accounts. I assume a law has been broken. The president of a newly formed technological...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: In terms of the experience to date, if one asks most whistleblowers if they would do it again, without hesitation they will say "No" because their families have been destroyed, they have been destroyed, their careers and their mental health have been destroyed while what they reported, particularly within Government agencies, is still ongoing. That is a terribly bad example to set. We have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (29 Sep 2021)

John McGuinness: We are obliged to conclude this part of the proceedings by 2.30 p.m. I thank all of the witnesses for attending. Our engagement has been very informative and helpful.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Joint Committee (6 Oct 2021)

John McGuinness: We have been notified of an apology from Deputy Matthews. The minutes of our meeting of 29 September were agreed during private session.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2021)

John McGuinness: I welcome from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Mr. Colin Menton, assistant secretary, Ms Ciara Morgan, principal officer, and Mr. Pat Keane, assistant principal officer. The format of this meeting will see Mr. Menton make a brief opening statement, which will be followed by questions from members. I invite Mr. Menton to proceed with his opening statement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2021)

John McGuinness: Before we move to members, has Mr. Menton taken into consideration the latest committee meeting and the papers of the witnesses who attended? Has he considered the testimony of the number of whistleblowers that we have had before us, including other examples from outside this committee, such as whistleblowers who have come forward publicly to comment on the legislation? Is that part of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2021)

John McGuinness: Does Mr. Menton want to reply?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2021)

John McGuinness: If no other member wishes to contribute at this stage, I will ask some questions. In regard to the draft Bill and the European directive, can Mr. Menton point us to the sections of the Bill and the proposed changes where the experiences and issues raised by whistleblowers have been addressed in a way that might prevent the difficulties faced by whistleblowers happening again? Whistleblowers...