Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and offer my support for the legislation before us. For too long we turned a blind eye to so-called white-collar crime and corporate malpractice. A culture of impunity was pervasive, with a widely observed "do not ask, do not tell" culture. In Ireland and across the globe, corporate malpractice played a significant part in the financial crisis. The Enron scandal was merely the tip of a very large iceberg. Anybody who believed that such practices did not exist in Ireland was extremely naive. In that context, the Government's legislation on the protection of whistleblowers, new freedom of information provisions and provisions regarding the regulation of lobbying are to be welcomed, and I commend the Minister on his efforts in this area. They are important aspects of building a regulatory and enforcement regime that will help us to reduce white-collar crime and corporate malpractice into the future.

The Bill we are discussing is designed to protect workers when they disclose information and, as such, is undoubtedly a welcome initiative. There are several additional provisions we would like to see included in the Bill and we will, therefore, be bringing forward amendments on Committee Stage and in the Dáil. I am sure my colleague, Deputy Mary Lou McDonald, will elaborate further on these issues.

The first issue relates to interim relief. The British whistleblower legislation includes a provision whereby whistleblowers who are dismissed may seek interim relief whereby they keep their job until such time as the case is heard and adjudicated on. Fear of losing one's job is a major obstacle for any potential whistleblower. The Council of Europe resolution in this regard states:

Relevant legislation should afford bona fide whistle-blowers reliable protection against any form of retaliation through an enforcement mechanism to investigate the whistle-blower's complaint and seek corrective action from the employer, including interim relief pending a full hearing and appropriate financial compensation if the effects of the retaliatory measures cannot reasonably be undone.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is seeking an amendment to the Bill to make provision for injunctive relief to be granted to prevent the unfair dismissal of employees following their making of a protected disclosure in accordance with the legislation. The purpose of interim relief provisions is to ensure, in the public interest, that employees are free from retaliations when making protected disclosures. The Planning and Development Act 2000 helped to point the way in this regard by way of its provision for relief in respect of a planning injunction.

Another concern we have relates to resourcing, enforcement and review. The positive intentions of this Bill will only be realised if sufficient resources are made available to those charged with upholding the law. A recent draft research paper by Dr. Elaine Byrne, entitled Ireland's White-Collar Crime Oversight Agencies - Fit for Purpose?, noted that 289 cases of illegality were identified in regard to the largest tax evasion scheme in Irish history but not one person was prosecuted. The Competition Authority has secured 33 convictions against companies and individuals, but the yield has been low and nobody was sent to jail. The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, ODCE, is yet to secure a prosecution for insider trading or market abuse since its establishment in 2001. Transparency International, in its national integrity study, noted that full analysis of trends is impeded by an absence of clear and consolidated statistics on investigations or prosecutions for corruption-related offences by law enforcement agencies and the various regulatory bodies. For instance, the ODCE's statistics on convictions under the Companies Act are at odds with those supplied by the Central Statistics Office, which takes its data mostly from the Garda Síochána's record management system.

As I said, the whistleblower legislation, the new freedom of information provisions and the Bill on lobbying are all progressive initiatives which herald a new era of accountability and transparency. However, without the necessary resources to ensure enforcement, supports and training and, critically, the collation of data, they might not do what they say on the tin.

In terms of the regulatory impact assessments, I am worried it did not identify the need for some limited potential Exchequer costs or compliance costs. If the legislation is to do its job properly, there will be costs. However, these can be limited by working closely with not-for-profit organisations such as Transparency International. Sinn Féin will support the legislation but will table amendments on Committee Stage to strengthen it. We look forward to working with the Minister on this legislation.