Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. I thank him. It would have been good to hear his presentation in full. This is a very comprehensive piece of work. Clearly, the Minister of State has engaged right across all sectors to try to bring forward the best possible legislation in this area.

Protected disclosure is something that has bothered me quite considerably since I came into this House because I think there is a massive misconception out there as to what precisely protected disclosure is and how one should go about making a disclosure. Members of this House and of the Dáil constantly receive blanket emails from members of the public who have an issue with an employer, a public service or whatever else. They always front up such submissions as protected disclosures. They have contacted everybody in the world to tell them they are making a protected disclosure, thereby doing away with any chance of protecting their own good names. Very frequently the issue that is raised with Members of the Oireachtas is not really conducive to protected disclosure. I am delighted that the Government is putting a commissioner in place and that that will allow people who are uncertain as to how to go about making a disclosure to go through the office of the commissioner, who will then direct them to the correct place.

My colleague, Senator Garvey, made reference to people on the front line and voluntary groups. There is no doubt, from recent evidence that has come to Oireachtas joint committees and to Members of the Oireachtas individually, but that there is a desperate need within the voluntary sector for an avenue through which to pursue a protected disclosure where people believe their personal safety or the safety of their colleagues is at stake.

Moreover, when it comes to improving organisations, all of us - none of us are immune from this - when we are in management positions in organisations sometimes believe that the protection of the organisation is more important than the protection of the individual worker. I think that that is addressed in the Bill. Workers will have an avenue to go down to make their disclosures and, because of the reporting mechanisms that have been built in, once a disclosure is made there is a feedback sequence that can be followed. From that point of view, this will be really important.

Section 16, which protects the individual's identity, is an excellent piece of work. We have all come across situations that needed rectifying. I have done so, particularly in my trade union background, in my teaching background and in industry before that. Sadly, the tendency is to isolate the person who identifies the problem and to make him or her seem to be the demon rather than somebody who is trying to improve the workforce for everybody. From that point of view, the Bill will go a long way, particularly with the use of the commissioner.

Employers need a bit of education here. Not everybody who makes a protected disclosure does so for malicious purposes. Even as a trade unionist, I can appreciate that some people will be malicious in seeking to use this legislation in order to inflict some sort of pain on their employer. Protections are needed for the employer or for named people, shall we say, such that the legislation is not used for malicious purposes. In fairness, I think 99 out of 100 people would never do that, but the important thing is that we look at the person making the disclosure as having given an honest and fair disclosure and that it is up the employer to prove that that is wrong. From that point of view, the Bill is really welcome.

Alongside protected disclosures, and in the same general area, is bullying in the workplace. One of the real problems for somebody making a disclosure is that he or she will be subjected to bullying in the workplace. By its very nature, bullying in the workplace is a cowardly one-on-one act that most people are not aware of.Most people will know that bullies have a street image and a private image, and in the private image they are horrible people who attack others, not personally but psychologically or mentally. There are several instances of people who have taken their own lives as a result of bullying in the workplace. It is something we have to examine in the context of protected disclosures because the release of a person's name can lead to that person being identified, even by colleagues. Consider a situation where there is a safety issue and the safety issue has been brought to the management. Everybody has been happy enough working with it, but there is one guy who insists that, for example, the safety rope is in place before the job starts or the like. He can be seen to be a crank when, in fact, he is trying to protect everybody else. There is an opportunity with this legislation to ensure that such information gets back.

I have three suggestions for the Minister of State. One is that we educate employers with respect to their responsibilities for protected disclosures. Having the legislation in place is one thing but to educate people as to how to process it is vital. Second, we should educate the general public. A member of the public should be able to make a protected disclosure against an organisation about a particular thing he or she observes without fear of reprisal of any sort. Third, we must get into the public domain what is not a protected disclosure, more importantly, than what is a protected disclosure. If we do that, we will go a long way.

I compliment the Minister of State for bringing this legislation forward and I am grateful to him for his decision to make his officials available as this Bill goes through the House. If there are issues that we wish to query or on which we want to have more information, his officials will be available to us. I hope the Bill passes through the House smoothly and that we get it implemented as quickly as possible. I thank the Minister of State for his time today.