Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to absolutely assure Senator Higgins and the wider public that introducing any form of chilling effect is not the intention in this Bill. This is a good Bill that strengthens protections for whistleblowers and puts a process in place that I believe will deliver better outcomes. That is really important. That is certainly my only agenda in bringing forward this legislation. I will consider the points the Senator made in that respect.

She raised then a specific issue with regard to section 12 of the Bill and, essentially, what she regards as the bar being set too high for allowance for a direct disclosure to the Minister. She highlighted the phrase "an imminent or manifest danger”, in particular, as well as the idea of the head of the public body concerned being directly complicit. I will examine those between now and Report Stage. We will take on board the points the Senator made insofar as we can.