John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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639. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the process within his Department for dealing with protected disclosures under the 2014 Act; if the examinations of such disclosures are carried out by an independent authority or persons other than those within the organisation to which the disclosure refers; the number of disclosures received by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15072/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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My Department has a written policy and procedures in place in relation to protected disclosures which came into effect in December 2015. Where a disclosure is made the policy provides for the following steps:

- the basis of the concerns raised by the worker are clarified and determination made as to whether it falls within the scope of this Policy;

- the issue raised is risk assessed and immediate action taken if the alleged wrongdoing involves a serious loss or danger to others. Depending on the seriousness of the allegations, it may be necessary to refer the matter to other appropriate authorities (e.g. An Garda Síochána; external enforcement agency or regulator, C&AG’s office).

- If it is established that the disclosure falls within the scope of this Policy it is then referred for investigation;

- If, having assessed the disclosure, it is deemed to relate to day to day operational matters the person making the Disclosure will be advised that these should in the first instance be brought to the attention of the relevant line manager and dealt with accordingly;

- If, having assessed the disclosure, it is deemed to relate solely to a personal grievance then the person making the Disclosure will be advised that the Civil Service grievance procedure is the appropriate process for addressing such issues.

The approach to the investigation of protected disclosures is decided having regard to the individual circumstances of each case. My Department has engaged independent third parties to carry out investigations where it deems appropriate.

My Department has received 6 disclosures which, having been assessed, were deemed protected disclosures under the provisions of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. In addition, I am in receipt of five other disclosures which are being assessed in relation to the provisions of the Act.