Current legislation fails to protect whistleblowers

Transparency International(TI) have called for a "single clear law" to protect Irish whistleblowers in a report launched today. Speaking at the launch, TI Ireland director John Devitt said the Irish government "have failed to protect whistleblowers" and criticised the "patchwork" legislation currently in place. 

According to the report, current legislation is totally inadequate and leaves "significant gaps in protection [of whistleblowers]". The report states that "the most obvious gaps relate to the reporting of offences under company law" and says the current banking crisis provides "plentiful evidence" of why such legislation is needed.

(Pictured: TI Ireland chief executive John Devitt, second left, with whistleblowers outside Dáil Eireann)

A panel of speakers including noted whistleblowers Eugene McErlean and Tom Clonan supported the report's findings. The panel, chaired by Fintan O'Toole of the Irish Times and also including journalist Justine McCarthy, were unanimous in their opinion that whistleblowers are not afforded enough protection under current legislation.

The report is also highly critical of the government's failure to introduce an overarching whistleblower protection law given that such a law was proposed over a decade ago in 1999. This proposal was dropped seven years later without being implemented. The reasoning behind this was highly dubious with the government citing unspecified "legal complexities" as a reason for not implementing the law.

The panel agreed that the law could have seriously lessened the impact of the current economic crisis. Fintan O'Toole said that the "absence of a whistleblower culture...has had catastrophic consequences for our society" and the panel's whistleblowers said that the serious consequences of speaking out limit whistleblowing in Ireland severely.

Eugene McErlean, a former auditor at AIB who spoke out against irregular practices within the bank, said that to speak out is to put oneself at risk of isolation. "From an organisational point of view, there is a lot of ostracisation...you lose all credibility," he said. His views were echoed by former army captain Tom Clonan, who blew the whistle on sexual abuse and harassment in the Irish defence forces. "[Being] isolated...was one of the most traumatic things I've ever experieced," said Clonan, who had previously served in the Balkans and the Middle East with the Irish army. "[The military authorities] embarked on a systematic policy of character assassination."

Justine McCarthy supported these claims saying that many of those she spoke to regarding the abuse carried out by Irish swimming coaches feared what the TI report termed "whistleblower reprisal". She said the vilification of whistleblowers was a cultural problem and was magnified by "an inability...and a determination" not to believe those who speak out. McCarthy also said the public must take responsibility for "re-electing [those] who turn a blind eye" to corruption and a culture of ambivalence towards corruption "percolates right through the system". Her recently published book Deep Deception outlines the extent to which Irish swimming authorities failed to respond adequately to complaints and, even today, many of those abused still fear revealing their identities for fear of reprisal. 

(Pictured: Eugene McErlean, left, and Tom Clonan, right)

With the consequences of speaking out so severe it is little wonder that so few people are willing to blow the whistle on corruption and malpractice in Irish society. Andrew Sheridan, legal advisor to TI Ireland, stated there was "no reason" why a Northern Ireland style whistleblower law "could not operate in this constituency". However, it remains to be seen whether the political will is there to implement comprehensive changes to current legislation. 

Legislators in attendance at the launch included Fine Gael TD Leo Vardakar who said that Fine Gael would "endorse a whistleblower's bill" at the next opportunity. However, given the past record of the current government, it is uncertain that such a bill will be allowed to pass through Dáil Eireann.

Summing up, Fintan O'Toole said that what Ireland needs is a "profound cultural change", and that from the top down in Irish society, whistleblowing is still frowned upon and until this changes corruption and malpractice will continue. Introducing a "single clear law" could be the first step to tackling the stigma attached to whistleblowing throughout Irish society.

(Photos: Claire Duggan)

A video of the discussion, along with the full text of the TI report, will be available later at Transparency Ireland's website.