Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Without wishing to rehash yesterday's heated saga and debate in the House with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, I note that Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company has been transferred to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. This morning the staff and chief executive will have access for the first time to the full accounts and exposure. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council had a council meeting last night at which I met a number of councillors. I still stand over the figures I put into the domain of this House. There will be another debate on another day about that issue.

I mentioned yesterday the issue of protected disclosures. I spoke to an officer dealing with protected disclosures in the Minister's Department to ascertain and understand the extent of protected disclosures in a general context. I will continue to explore a number of avenues. I will bring to the Minister's attention my intention to pursue the matter. I stand over what I said about the weakness of corporate governance. It is wrong and inappropriate to saddle a local authority with these matters.

I welcome the Acting Leader, Senator Richmond, a former colleague of mine on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. I ask him to arrange for statements on the issues of whistleblowing and protected disclosures. I understand the Minister for Finance is, or was, involved in initiating a review of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. The Act came into full effect in 2015. There have been two, possibly three, annual reports about it. It needs to be revisited and I wish to raise a number of detailed issues about it. I would welcome a debate in this House about protected disclosures as soon as possible.