Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

It has been evident in recent years that it is not always possible for the Garda Síochána or even a member of the board to instil confidence in a whistleblower that he or she will be protected. The Minister is aware of cases in which persons who have acted as whistleblowers have had their names released, either directly or indirectly, to their employers, which has had a detrimental effect on their career. One of the changes that could be introduced would be to allow complaints to be made to a Member of the Oireachtas or a member of the board of NAMA, in addition to members of the Garda Síochána. If a person were to give information to me on wrongdoing in regard to NAMA, I would make the best possible effort to clarify the information and ascertain it was correct. I might check with the Minister on whether it was true before I would say anything publicly. That would give protection to the individual concerned, as he or she would be one step removed from people finding out who they were.

Complaints made to members of the Garda Síochána have to be written down in report books and a detailed file must be compiled, which could be accessed by someone else. The PULSE system has been accessed by individuals who were paid by criminals to do so. The board of NAMA would be deeply involved with people in NAMA, which could give rise to a conflict of interests. I urge the Minister to consider making a change to the effect that complaints could also be made to Members of the Oireachtas. There are only 226 Members and most of us could be trusted not to do something that would be detrimental to NAMA, or that would in any way be wrong. We do not abuse parliamentary privilege. That would be a useful change. The Minister has seen cases in which members of the Garda Síochána have made information available and their names find their way into the public domain eventually. I propose that Members of the Oireachtas and members of the board be included in the provision, with members of the Garda Síochána.