Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 127: To ask the Minister for Finance when he will bring forward to the next stage legislation covering whistle-blowers in the financial services sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8682/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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'Whistleblowing' is usually interpreted to mean the reporting, in good faith, of a breach or potential breach of the law, and the according of a measure of protection to the person reporting, against penalisation by the entity about whom the report has been made.

Whistleblowing provisions currently exist in Irish legislation relation to Child Abuse, Ethics in Public Office, Health and Safety, Competition and Consumer Law.

The Company Law Review Group, the statutory advisory expert body charged with advising the Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment on the review and development of company law in Ireland, examined the inclusion of 'whistleblowing' provisions in Irish companies legislation in 2007. The majority recommendation was that a company law-specific whistle-blowing provision should not be included in the new Companies Consolidation and Reform Bill taking into account the degree of malpractice, the required nature and extent of the disclosure, the reputational risk for companies and the extra resources, or diversion of resources, for the enforcement agencies.

The Group however observed that this is a matter which needs to be considered also in the context of appropriate legislation governing the employer-employee relationship.

As illustrated by the view in the majority report of the Company Law Review Group, this is a complex issue and I would also point out that relevant provisions of EU law need to be considered. However, this is a matter that I will consider further given recent disclosures regarding corporate governance in a specific credit institution and in particular in light of the outcome of ongoing investigations of these matters by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement and the Financial Regulator.