Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 17:

In page 57, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: “Public information campaign

31. The Minister may, subsequent to the passing of this Act, hold an accessible public information campaign in respect of the role of whistleblowing in the advancement of the public good and the mechanisms by which someone may make a protected disclosure and the supports which they may avail in respect of the making of such a disclosure.”.

Amendment No. 16 being ruled out of order is a concern because we have a complete imbalance. One of the only serious penalties outlined here is that people face a threat of prosecution if they give false information. Determining what is knowingly giving false information will be difficult because people hear information and then hear other information. People are sometimes fed information which they believe to be true. There may be contradictions in terms of a whistleblower in that, having raised an issue, other issues may be brought to them. Sometimes, people make a disclosure about three issues which are true and correct and one which may not be correct but which they have added in because they have come to believe that anything is possible in their organisation. They may do so in good faith.

There is the danger of a chill effect in the potential creation of a case for prosecution against a whistleblower accused of knowingly using false information, yet there is no equivalent threat of prosecution for a person who gives false information in respect of the whistleblower. There are measures on obstructing an investigation but false information in respect of a whistleblower is not subject to an equivalent measure. That is an inequity. We have to be careful. Measures in this Bill linger from an old Act and which applies to everything in Ireland where we treat the person raising the alarm as the problem or danger. It reminds me of birth information tracing, where the person seeking the information was the difficult person to be managed. There are a litany of situations where incredibly damaging false information has been put out about whistleblowers. That should be signalled as being as strong a concern in this Bill as the equivalent.

Amendment No. 17 provides that the Minister will, after the Bill has passed, "hold an accessible public information campaign in respect of the role of whistleblow[ers] in the advancement of the public good ... [the ways in] which someone may make a protected disclosure and the supports which they may avail" of when and after making a disclosure. This is a very important recommendation from the Irish Council of Civil Liberties and it was a key recommendation from our committee's pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill. It is important across this House that we know the importance of whistleblowing and the public service whistleblowers have given the country, often at great personal and professional cost. We need to make sure the public are aware of this contribution, know how to make a disclosure, are, most important, empowered and encouraged when they see wrongdoing to report it, and know they will be supported and protected in doing so.

I have outlined over the course of this debate a number of factors that need to be reflected in that public information campaign. The core one is that this goes against a strong culture against speaking out on these issues. This is not somebody taking vindictive actions; it is not mean. It is somebody speaking for the public good and is a contribution to that good. We should highlight the benefits accrued to the State, sometimes difficult benefits which involve facing up to problems and bad practices, having to admit we are wrong and having to change.That is a good process for the State or a public body to undergo. It is not just that these people are doing public service but that it is good practice for a public body, company or any other body affected by this legislation to hear the bad things, face them and act upon them. That is a double layer. Not only does it highlight the power and importance of whistleblowers, protect them and give them assurances, despite the horrible record we have in this State, but it also says that the State has grown up and recognises there is a value in knowing one is doing a wrong thing and fixing it.

A public information campaign will be crucial, especially as some of the matters I have highlighted throughout the Bill are not clearly enough enunciated. Some of the assurances I would have liked to have been built into this legislation are not given. For this reason, the public information campaign will have a heavier load to carry.