[Speaking in the Seanad during Order of Business]
I am troubled by certain aspects of the emerging story of the intersection between the legislative branch that oversees the Garda and the various bodies that exist to ensure complaints from within and without the Garda can be handled and by the adequacy of the protection that the latter provide for whistleblowers. With this in mind, I will ask a question of the Deputy Leader, herself a distinguished lawyer. Let me state at the outset that I have great respect for the intellect and reforming zeal of the Minister for Justice and Equality, one of the smartest and most able to ever occupy that office. He has brought a real energy for reform, which I commend. However, there is something deeply troubling about the culture of a public service in which the person who is responsible for protecting whistleblowers advises a whistleblower that perhaps the latter should not blow the whistle because of personal consequences for himself or herself.
I will not go over old ground, but as someone who once found himself facing some very unusual reactions from public bodies in this country when I blew a whistle on a problem, I do not believe that the culture of the public service collectively has yet managed to transcend corporatism and self-loyalty and to understand that it works for the people. If individuals blow whistles about problems, it is not the job of the public sector to put down the shutters, pull up the drawbridge and protect itself. Rather, its job is to protect the people in whose interests it should be acting. Frequently, and with no disrespect to our many fine public servants, this does not happen. The higher up the food chain one goes, the less likely it is to happen.
One then factors in other recent disclosures, for example, public bodies like the HSE sending threatening letters to people who publicly and legitimately criticised aspects of public policy. One must have a serious think about from where this culture is emanating. Is the Deputy Leader happy that an appropriate culture of respect for whistleblowing exists in the public service or is it something about which we need to have a serious think? I wonder if this would be an opportunity to hold a public consultation forum in this Chamber at which people might have the opportunity to discuss specific examples of the protection of the State not being appropriately accorded to people who brought serious concerns that, five, ten or 15 years later, we know were often legitimate and involved matters as diverse as child abuse, financial mismanagement and specific acts of malfeasance by individual public servants. Perhaps we need to have a little retreat on this issue to readjust ethical compasses.
