Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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59. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for the failures of CMETB and LMETB in which processes and procedures were ignored to safeguard management to the detrimental treatment of other staff at a huge cost to public funds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48509/21]

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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60. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if protected disclosures were allegedly ignored by CMETB and LMETB (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48510/21]

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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61. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which CMETB and LMETB bound by processes and procedures agreed nationally can ignore a duty of care to all employees, not just some employees, when they have a legal obligation to do so; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48511/21]

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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62. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a situation in CMETB and LMETB that has been flagged many times has been allowed to continue; if he will now commit to an investigation in which those responsible will be held to account; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48512/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 59, 60, 61 and 62 together.

The Deputy will be aware that each ETB referred to by the Deputy is a separate statutory body that is responsible for managing its own affairs. Each ETB is the employer of teaching and other staff of the ETB and has similar powers and responsibilities to any other employer. While my Department has functions in the setting of terms and conditions for teachers and certain other ETB staff, my Department is not their employer. My Department does not have any employer/employee relationship with the teachers or other staff in an ETB and it cannot perform functions which are proper to the employer in relation to the management of such employees. It is a matter for the parties involved to address such matters having regard to relevant procedures or policies in place including any grievance or complaints processes relevant to the issues concerned.

In the case of a complaint about a member of teaching staff in a school, any complaint should be addressed, in the first instance, to the ETB as employer. In addition, the Teaching Council of Ireland has a complaints facility that can be accessed in appropriate cases, details are available on their website at www.teachingcouncil.ie/

In relation to protected disclosures, under section 21(1) of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, all public bodies, including Education and Training Boards (ETBs), are required to establish and maintain procedures for the making of protected disclosures by their employees. Where an ETB receives a protected disclosure, they are required to follow those procedures.

Any follow up actions in relation to a protected disclosure made to an ETB are a matter for the ETB concerned. Depending on the nature of the disclosure, the ETB may need to deal with the matter in accordance with other relevant internal procedures and/or refer the matter to an external investigative or regulatory authority where appropriate. In handling a disclosure, ETBs must also adhere to their obligations under the Act to maintain the confidentiality of the employee concerned.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has issued guidance to assist public bodies, including in the performance of their functions under the Act. The guidance includes that the procedures should allow for a system for review in respect of the outcome of an assessment/investigation undertaken in respect of the protected disclosure or of any complaint of penalisation.

Both of the ETBs referred to by the Deputy have confirmed that they have a protected disclosure policy in place. While ETBs are obliged to protect the confidentiality of persons making a disclosure and therefore are constrained in terms of commenting on particular disclosures or actions arising from same, all ETBs are required to report on the number of protected disclosures received in their annual reports. The ETBs in question have published this information in their annual reports and separately as a standalone document and both are available on their respective websites.