Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are some positive elements in what the Minister of State said, and there are also matters that remain a concern. I note positively the two final points that were made and I request that they be made clear in the public information campaigns that will come with this legislation. The widening of the right to make reports beyond workers is very important, for example, in situations which the Minister of State signalled. Where a contract is given for the provision of a public service, the persons receiving that public service via a party contracted by the State should certainly be empowered if they need to signal a matter. We know there have been situations where what a public body or a Department has been informed is happening is not what is happening in some areas. For example, some of the contracts in direct provision have been signals and situations whereby serious matters of concern have been highlighted by those persons receiving services from a contracted party.

It is also useful, and I again ask that this be part of the public information campaign, that the Minister of State has made it clear that if a public body has contracted for a service to a company, an individual should be able to make the protected disclosure directly to the public body. This is consistent with the public duty in equality and human rights which applies to public bodies and Departments. They remain responsible even when they have contracted various services to contracting providers. The core responsibility for ensuring compliance with the public duty in equality and human rights remains with the public body, so it is consistent with that. It is going to be very important to signal that, especially as sometimes those who are contracted to deliver services can be large multinationals where it is hard to identify the relevant persons. The important thing is that it is public money that is being spent in that way.

Those are useful factors, but I am still concerned about the decision not to guarantee the powers under the Bill. My amendment is not simply to try to add a new power; it is trying to ensure that the power the Minister of State has outlined, the power to specify certain companies or categories of companies, would be used in respect of public contracts. That is very important. We talked about the dangers of disadvantaging. To be clear, when we choose not to put these measures in we are, in fact, specifically disadvantaging companies that do the right thing. If our public procurement does not put a value on best practices or even a requirement to have them, such as a due diligence process for internal reporting of any matters that may be of concern, for example, with regard to how that money is spent, and when we do not have those processes in place and we do not reward or recognise the importance of having those processes in place, we effectively reward those companies that choose not to spend money and that have less overheads as a result. That goes across an entire set of quality criteria. Not having quality criteria that include this criterion, which is a measure of quality, is not the neutral position. Not having that is a disadvantaging of those companies that endeavour to do the right thing and put their resources into best practice and due diligence.

The largest customer in the State, the largest contractor and the most spent on public procurement by any body in the State is the State. We set the tone for what matters and what is expected and for high standards and proper risk management. This is a risk management measure that should be in place in any company that gets a public contract. I note my amendments do not deal with small contracts but with large contracts of over €3 million in public money, which is certainly entering the point of significant amount.

I am glad of some of the points the Minister of State has made and I hope they will be reflected in the public information campaign. However, I am particularly disappointed that amendment No. 8 has not been accepted. I will withdraw amendment No. 7 but I will press amendment No. 8.