Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)

Our history is littered with examples of how poor government gives way to bad practice. Those who had the power to protect became the abusers of those who were the most innocent in our society. Senator Susan O'Keeffe said we cannot legislate to make people tell the truth. However, we need to ensure the legislation we put in place facilitates as much as possible that truth and transparency come to the fore. It does not bode well when the word we use to describe these people has negative connotations. The word "whistleblower" as Gaeilge is "sceithre", which means squealer. We need to try to encourage truth and transparency. Senator Ó Domhnaill referred to the value we place on the truth and we need to ensure words we use do not have negative connotations.

When people come forward to tell the truth and to highlight abuses in the system, they should not be viewed negatively and looked down on. A good friend of mine raised an issue about a public hospital. He very much rejects the use of the word "whistleblower" because of the way he was treated in the workplace and the way he was forced to leave.

We need to be advocates for people who come forward, tell the truth and shine a light on these abuses and to ensure they receive as much respect as possible. We need to examine use of word "whistleblower" or "sceithre" because it does not bode well for people who tell the truth.