Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 33: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the call made by the Director of Corporate Enforcement for the provision of a whistle-blowers provision to protect people who draw attention to wrong doing in business; if it is intended to include such a provision in the planned companies consolidation and reform bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23934/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The issue of whether or not there should be provisions for "whistleblowing" (and related protection of the whistleblower from penalisation), specifically in the context of breaches of company law, was considered by the Company Law Review Group (CLRG), as part of its 2007 Work Programme.

The CLRG is the statutory body appointed to advise the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in relation to company law matters. The Director of Corporate Enforcement is a member of the CLRG. The CLRG's Report on its 2007 Work Programme has been submitted to me for consideration. In accordance with the statutory requirements, the Report has been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

The CLRG concluded that the balance of risks involved is weighted heavily against proceeding to insert specific whistleblowing provisions in the Companies Act and that there is no compelling public policy interest at stake. The benefits of creating such provisions are not justified by the extent of company law malpractice or by their likely effectiveness. Given the international regulatory situation, there is no economic rationale to support Ireland's being in the vanguard on this issue. Finally, taking account of the reputational risk to companies and the extra resources, or diversion of resources, in respect of the enforcement agencies, the CLRG's majority recommendation is that a company law-specific "whistleblowing" provision should not be included in the new Companies Bill.