Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 8, between lines 26 and 27, to insert the following:“(iv) any office holder of state under the Constitution of Ireland or member of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann,”.

I do not expect the Minister to accept my amendment and shall not press it. However, I tabled my amendment because I wanted to highlight an issue. The Bill is about employment relations. My amendment does not cover every aspect that I wanted it to cover. There may be consequences for people involved in the political process who highlight a wrongdoing that may not necessarily be described in the employment relationship, for example, if a councillor or a Member of the Oireachtas reports corruption. The amendment does not cover councillors but it is that type of disclosure that is not protected by the legislation. I am conscious that the Bill is effectively employment legislation but it does not do anything to protect a councillor or State official who will face serious consequences if they highlight wrongdoing.

Back in the times that we read about in tribunal reports - thank God that was long before my time - politicians who spoke against corruption faced serious consequences. One person got physically assaulted at a council meeting for highlighting bribery. I tabled my amendment to highlight the issue. Perhaps we can deal with the matter on another day as it is not really an issue for employment. However, I still think that if a person elected to public office wishes to report wrongdoing that they are not protected against a dominant political system.