John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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269. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 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. [15076/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Any worker in my Department who has a reasonable belief in relation to one or more of the serious wrongdoings set in the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 can disclose the relevant information to any designated person of grade equivalent to or not lower than Principal Officer in my Department in the first instance. Where, after an initial assessment, it is decided investigation of a disclosure is warranted, such an investigation would be carried out by a senior officer of the Department. However, to date no disclosures have been received in my Department.