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

Section 6A(1)(c), as inserted by section 9 of the Bill, provides that persons designated to receive and follow up shall be impartial. The statutory guidance we will issue in the wake of the Bill’s enactment can and will provide further elaboration on what constitutes impartiality in this context.

I do not see the need for this additional provision and it could be unworkable in very small organisations with a handful of employees. The only way such an organisation could meet this requirement would be to procure an external investigator, which could be potentially disproportionate if the matter reported was relatively minor. As a result, I do not accept this amendment.