Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I hear the Senator's concern and I hope I can reassure her. I am not in a position to accept the amendment because I do not feel it is necessary. I believe there is a protection there and, as we discussed on Committee Stage, the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 protects the rights of those making a protected disclosure under that Act. This Bill does not in any way prejudice the rights of those making a protected disclosure under that Act. While under section 30(2) of the Institutional Burials Bill it is an offence intentionally or recklessly to disclose confidential information, that has to be read in light of section 15 of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, which sets out the defences that exist under that Act and states:

In a prosecution of a person for any offence prohibiting or restricting the disclosure of information it is a defence for the person to show that, at the time of the alleged offence, the disclosure was, or was reasonably believed by the person to be, a protected disclosure.

This means anyone who discloses confidential information in the reasonable belief he or she is making a protected disclosure will have a complete defence from prosecution under section 30 of this legislation. The amendment is unnecessary because that defence is there.