Lorraine Higgins (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013 as a very necessary and detailed legislative framework which will protect whistleblowers across all stratifications of the workforce. There is no doubt that the details within the Bill are necessary reforms to the law and that they will encourage employees to come forward with reports of suspected wrongdoing within their place of employment while at the same time shielding those employees for disclosures they believe to be in the public interest.

As the Minister and I know, this legislation very much formed a key part of Labour Party policy and our political reform agenda. We fought the last general election on a reform platform. It is great to have a Minister from the Labour Party, like Deputy Howlin, spearheading this important piece of legislative armour. While we reflect on all that has happened in our recent political and economic history, it is arguable that had this very important piece of legislation been enacted before now, we might have combated the kind of corruption we have seen within the various sectors in Ireland which ultimately led to our collapse.

The essence of this legislation is that it protects those whistleblowers who speak out against wrongdoing or cover-ups, whether in the public or private sector. The problem until now has been that when a person knows something about wrongdoing in their workplace, they are confronted with a plethora of reasons not to disclose details further, such as the prospect of isolation, or more seriously, the risk of prosecution for breaching laws relating to government secrets. Indeed, the response to the actions of Edward Snowden serves as a very public demonstration to whistleblowers as to why they should not reveal any secrets.

This legislation ameliorates this occupational hazard in that it provides a robust statutory framework that allows workers to raise concerns regarding potential wrongdoing in their place of work, safe in the knowledge that they can avail of significant employment and other protections if they are penalised by their employer or suffer any detriment for doing so. In particular, the identity of the whistleblower is protected under the Bill and the person to whom the protected disclosure was made must take all reasonable steps to ensure any information that may reveal the identity of the whistleblower is not disclosed, thus placing the onus on the confidante.

Notwithstanding this, there are circumstances where the identity of the whistleblower may be disclosed, including where the whistleblower agrees to the disclosure of their identity, as well as other defined circumstances within the Act. This framework is ostensibly pro-whistleblower and seeks to ensure that workers the length and breadth of the country are encouraged to raise any concern with his or her employer in the first instance, where she or he reasonably believes that the information being disclosed shows or tends to show wrongdoing.

Other relevant provisions in the Bill include compelling public bodies to establish procedures for handling protected disclosures, the prohibition on opt-out clauses or other clauses that preclude the application of the Bill or provide for an action for breach of contract regarding the making of a protected disclosure, as well as amendments to other pieces of primary and secondary legislation. However, it must be pointed out that while the Bill has universal application, it has no effect on existing immunities, privileges or defences. Whistleblowers can be safe in the knowledge that the legislation contained in the Bill reflects international best practice recommendations on whistleblower protections made by the G20, the OECD, the UN and the Council of Europe. It is great that we have these recommendations and that the Bill follows them to the letter.

The Minister outlined some of the key features of the Bill, but I will not go into detail on those as he has given a succinct explanation of them. However, we must be mindful that many businesses, private and public, will try to circumvent this legislation in so far as they can. No doubt, they will develop some sort of internal procedures for handling disclosures to ensure that any problems are fixed before they become public knowledge. While they may feel this is necessary and while I welcome the Minister's comments regarding a code of conduct, it is imperative the unions would disseminate a charter of rights for whistleblowers and employers so that both parties are fully apprised of the legal circumstances and the situation in the event that either party needs to avail of this legislation.

There is no doubt this legislation shows the Government is serious about accountability and integrity. At the end of the day, insiders know things about their organisation that outsiders can never find out. This Bill is a huge advancement from the previous piecemeal approach, where there was no reasonable standardised protections for whistleblowers. Indeed, compared to the previous situation where whistleblowers had no protection at all, this is an historic and meaningful step. The Bill will provide much-needed guidance to a whistleblowers across all sectors in Ireland and it will do much to restore Ireland's integrity and international esteem in combating corruption. The Bill will also do much to restore international esteem and Ireland's integrity in regard to combating corruption.

On behalf of the Labour Party group in the Seanad, I thank the Minister for moving so quickly to bring this Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas and implement it.