Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Senators for their contributions. I will continue my contribution where I left off by describing some of the main provisions of the Bill.

I had been discussing Chapter 3, section 14, which inserts the new sections 10C and 10D into the principal Act. These sections concern the handling of disclosures made or transmitted to the commissioner. In the first instance, the commissioner shall attempt to identify either a prescribed person or another suitable person with the competence to follow up on the matter reported and transmit the report to said person for further action. If no person can be found, the commissioner shall apply the standard rules as regards acknowledgement, follow-up and feedback, as required by the directive in respect of prescribed persons.

It also inserts section 10E, which provides that where a report is transmitted to a third party who is not subject to the requirement to have formal reporting channels, that person shall follow the standard rules as regards acknowledgement, follow-up and feedback. It inserts section 10F, which provides for powers of investigation for the commissioner in the event that direct follow-up of a report is required.

Section 15 inserts a new schedule to the Act concerning a number of standard provisions regarding the keeping of accounts and the staffing of the office of the protected disclosures commissioner.

Chapter 4, which comprises sections 16 to 20, inclusive, transposes a number of provisions of the directive that are applicable to internal reporting to employers and external reporting to prescribed persons and the commissioner.

Section 16 obliges persons responsible for handling protected disclosures to keep the identity of reporting persons confidential, overhauling a similar provision in the principal Act. Section 17 introduces a new requirement to similarly keep confidential the identities of other persons named in a disclosure. Section 18 provides for the restriction of certain data subject access rights to prevent these rights being abused to out a whistleblower or to frustrate or to impede effective follow-up on a report.

Section 19 specifies how records of protected disclosures shall be kept. Section 20 imposes a similar restriction on the Freedom of Information Act as that provided for in section 18. Again, it is intended to protect reporting persons’ identities and to prevent attempts to impede or frustrate follow-up.

Chapter 5 comprises sections 21 to 25, inclusive, and it concerns the enhanced protection measures that are required by the directive. The key changes are introduced in this chapter. They include, first, the extension of interim relief to acts of penalisation other than dismissal. Second, there is the reversal of the burden of proof in civil cases concerning penalisations, so that employers will have to prove that the alleged act of penalisation was not taken because the worker made a protected disclosure. Last, there is the provision of a set of offences for contraventions of the Act.

Chapter 6, which comprises sections 26 to 33, inclusive, provides for a number of incidental and supplementary measures, including the removal of the restriction on public disclosure of taxpayer information for certain types of records; the provision for the Minister to issue statutory guidance to assist public bodies, prescribed persons and the commissioner in best practice in the handling of reports; the provision of freely available information on how to make a disclosure and the protections afforded by the Act; enhanced provisions as regards the provision of statistical information to the Minister on the numbers of protected disclosures made and for the publication of said information; and finally powers for the Workplace Relations Commission inspectorate to monitor and enforce compliance with the requirements on employers to have internal reporting channels.

Finally, the Bill inserts two schedules into the principal Act. These are Schedule 5, which is a set of standard provisions as regards the keeping of accounts and staffing at the office of protected disclosures commissioner, and Schedule 6 reproduces the annexe to the directive, listing all of the EU laws that lie within the material’s scope.

I will now address some of the points that have made by Senators here today. I thank them all for their contributions. I thank all Senators who support the strengthening of the legislation and who have engaged with it. I want to thank Sinn Féin for sending representatives to my office to discuss the amendments, for tabling those amendments and for working constructively to try to advance this legislation. I know it is difficult to do that.

Before I wrap up, I also want to mention one issue that was raised during the debate of the Bill in the Dáil that remains unresolved. The pre-legislative scrutiny report recommended that the new protections of the Bill be extended retrospectively to persons who reported wrongdoing prior to its enactment. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, gave a commitment to the House that he would examine the issue in consultation with the Attorney General. The Minister had hoped to bring proposals in this regard before the Bill passed in the Dáil, but this did not prove possible. Work in this area is now at an advanced stage. Amendments will be brought before this House for consideration when the Bill moves to Committee Stage.

In closing, I reiterate my thanks to Members of both Houses who worked on the pre-legislative scrutiny report on this Bill, which has greatly influenced its development. I also thank the various stakeholders who have contributed to the development of Bill, including those who took the time to make submissions to the public consultation when the general scheme of the Bill was being developed, as well as those who attended the pre-legislative scrutiny hearings at the committee. Their input has also provided great help in the preparation of the Bill. Finally, I thank all Members of this House for their attention. We had a positive debate on the issues in the Dáil and I hope that will continue in the Seanad. I commend this Bill to the House and I look forward to hearing the views of Members on Committee Stage.