Protected Disclosures

Procedures for the Making of Protected Disclosures in the Institute of Public Administration

April 2018

INTRODUCTION

1. These procedures are to encourage workers in the IPA to “speak up” on any issue that could impinge on the IPA’s ability to carry out its roles and responsibilities to the high standard expected.

2. As a public body, under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”), the IPA is required to have procedures in place to enable workers of the IPA to make “protected disclosures”.

3. The purpose of this policy is to encourage the disclosure of wrongdoings by IPA workers internally through the channels provided for in this policy.

4. The benefits of disclosing internally (as opposed to externally outside of the IPA) are numerous and having in place internal procedures to enable and facilitate the internal disclosure of wrongdoing facilitate the IPA in:-

Deterring wrongdoing in the public service.
Ensuring early detection and remediation of potential wrongdoing.
Reducing the risk of leaking of confidential information.
Demonstrating to interested stakeholders, regulators and the courts that the public body is accountable and managed effectively.
Improving trust, confidence and morale of workers in the public body.
Building a responsible and ethical organisational culture; and
Limiting the risk of reputational and financial damage.

KEY PRINCIPLES & COMMITMENT OF THE BOARD OF THE IPA

5. The following key principles inform this Policy:

All disclosures of wrongdoing in the workplace should, as a matter of routine, be the subject of an appropriate assessment and / or investigation and the identity of the discloser should be adequately protected; and
Providing that the worker discloses information relating to wrongdoing, in an appropriate manner, and based on a reasonable belief, no question of penalisation should arise.

6. These procedures set out the process by which a worker of the IPA can make a protected disclosure, what will happen when a disclosure is made and what the IPA will do to protect the discloser.

7. The Board of the IPA is committed to fostering an appropriate environment for addressing concerns relating to potential wrongdoing in the workplace and to providing the necessary support for staff to raise genuine concerns. The Board is committed to creating a culture that encourages the making of protected disclosures and provides protection for disclosers.
Specifically, the Board is committed to the following:

8. Facilitating, encouraging and promoting the disclosure of wrongdoing;
Encouraging workers to make protected disclosures at the earliest possible opportunity;

Assisting, supporting and protecting workers who make protected disclosures;
Protecting a worker’s identity in a manner consistent with the requirements of the 2014 Act and taking action where those requirements have been breached;
Assessing any disclosure made, conducting an investigation, where warranted, and addressing all findings that require attention;
Providing that workers are not to be penalised for reporting relevant wrongdoings; and
Providing workers with specific guidelines as set out in these procedures as to how to make protected disclosures.

WHO CAN MAKE A DISCLOSURE UNDER THIS POLICY?

9. Wrongdoing may come to the attention of, and a disclosure can be made by, any worker. In line with the inclusive approach, which underpins this disclosure policy, a worker is broadly set out so that any current and former employee, independent contractor, sub contractor, agency workers, apprentice in the IPA and any person who interacts with the work place on a contractual basis should be considered a worker for the purposes of this policy. This also includes staff on associate contracts.

10. Volunteers are encouraged to avail of the internal procedures for making disclosures and the IPA commits to protect their identity (subject to the limitations as set out below) and to protect them from penalisation. However, and for the avoidance of doubt, the remedies, rights and provisions of the 2014 Act which are reserved to “workers” (within the definition of the 2014 Act) are not extended to volunteers by this policy.

WHAT TYPES OF DISCLOSURES OR CONCERNS ARE COVERED BY THIS POLICY?

This policy covers “protected disclosures”. A protected disclosure in the 2014 Act is a disclosure of information, which in the reasonable belief of the worker, tends to show one or more relevant wrongdoings which came to the attention of the worker in connection with the worker’s employment and is disclosed in the manner described in the Act.]

Relevant wrongdoings

11. Relevant wrongdoings include:

(a) that an offence has been, is being or is likely to be committed,

(b) that a person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation, other than one arising under the worker’s contract of employment or other contract whereby the worker undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services,

(d) that the health or safety of any individual has been, is being or is likely to be endangered,

(e) that the environment has been, is being or is likely to be damaged,

(f) that an unlawful or otherwise improper use of funds or resources of a public body, or of other public money, has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur,

(g) that an act or omission by or on behalf of a public body is oppressive, discriminatory or grossly negligent or constitutes gross mismanagement, or

(h) that information tending to show any matter falling within any of the preceding paragraphs has been, is being or is likely to be concealed or destroyed.

Personal complaints v disclosures of wrongdoing

12. Personal complaints are not relevant wrongdoings and therefore cannot be a protected disclosure covered by this policy. This policy should not be used for complaints relating to a worker’s own personal circumstances. Purely personal grievances or personal employment complaints relating to day to day operational reporting remain to be dealt with under other processes including the IPA Grievance & Disciplinary Procedures and Dignity at Work Policy.

13. For example, a worker may complain that there is a breach of the worker’s own terms and conditions. That type of complaint should generally be dealt with under the grievance (or equivalent) procedure. Alternatively, a worker may claim that they are being bullied or harassed by a colleague. That type of complaint should generally be dealt with under the dignity at work (or equivalent) procedure.

Disclosure of information

14. A protected disclosure should contain “information” which tends to show wrongdoing. The ordinary meaning of disclosing “information” is conveying facts, such as stating that particular events have occurred. This is different to simply making an allegation on the basis of a suspicion that is not founded on anything tangible.

15. Workers are not required or entitled to investigate matters themselves to find proof of their suspicion and should not endeavour to do so. All workers need to do, and should do, is disclose the information that they have, based on a reasonable belief that it discloses a wrongdoing and, where the information relates to individuals, that it is necessary to disclose that information.

Reasonable belief

16. A worker must have a reasonable belief that the information disclosed shows, or tends to show, wrongdoing. The term “reasonable belief” does not mean that the belief has to be correct. Workers are entitled to be mistaken in their belief, so long as their belief was based on reasonable grounds.

17. It may be quite reasonable for a worker to believe that a wrongdoing is occurring on the basis of what he or she observes. A worker may not know all the facts of the case and the worker is not obliged to find proof of his / her suspicion. In such a case the worker may have reasonable grounds for believing that some form of wrongdoing is occurring, but it may subsequently turn out that the worker was mistaken.

18. No worker will be penalized simply for getting it wrong, so long as the worker had a reasonable belief that the information disclosed showed, or tended to show, wrongdoing.

In connection with their employment

19. The information must come to the attention of the worker in connection with his / her employment, but a disclosure of any wrongdoing which is the worker’s, or the worker’s employer’s, function to detect, investigate or prosecute does not come within the terms, or attract the protections and redress, of the 2014 Act.

Motivation

20. The Motivation is irrelevant when determining whether or not it is a disclosure protected by the 2014 Act. All protected disclosures should be dealt with regardless of the worker’s motivation for making the disclosure, and the worker should be protected so long as the worker reasonably believes that the information disclosed tended to show a wrongdoing.

21. However, a disclosure made in the absence of a reasonable belief (for example where false allegations are deliberately made or made without any reasonable belief in the truth of the allegations) will not attract the protection of the 2014 Act and, may result in disciplinary action against the discloser. In addition, disclosure of a wrongdoing does not necessarily confer any protection or immunity on a worker in relation to any involvement they may have had in that wrongdoing.

22. Furthermore, if the allegations made by the discloser are found to be false, even if reasonably held, and they were made with malice the discloser will be unable to rely on the defence of qualified privilege to any defamation claim taken against him/her by the accused. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this policy amounts to an indemnity for a worker who is making a disclosure in relation to any action that may be taken by a person against whom allegations are made.

Method of disclosure

Disclosing in the manner described in the Act

23. To be a protected disclosure and therefore to gain the protections of the 2014 Act you have to disclose in the manner prescribed by the Act. The 2014 Act provides for both internal disclosure by a worker (i.e. disclosure to the IPA) and for external disclosure (disclosure outside the IPA).

24. The simplest form of disclosure, and the form the IPA encourages is to internally disclosure to the employer, where all that is required is a reasonable belief that the information disclosed shows or tends to show that the wrongdoing is occurring, has occurred or is likely to occur. This is a deliberately low threshold designed to ensure that most reports are made to the person best placed to correct the alleged wrongdoing – the employer. In the case of workers in a public body that worker may choose to report to the relevant Minister. The IPA encourages workers to disclose internally, at least in the first instance, where internal disclosures will be taken seriously and the worker making the disclosure will receive appropriate protection.

Internal Disclosures - Disclosures to the IPA

25. This procedure identifies how a worker can make a protected disclosure within the IPA. Within the IPA, protected disclosures should normally be made in the first instance to the individual’s immediate line manager.

26. If an individual feels unable to raise the matter with their immediate line manager, the protected disclosure may be raised with a member of the Protected Disclosures Panel of the IPA who will have received dedicated training in how to handle protected disclosures.

External Disclosures - Disclosures outside the IPA

27. The Act identifies the following avenues for making a protected disclosure outside the employer (in this case, the IPA):

(a) Other responsible person
Where the worker reasonably believes that the wrongdoing relates solely/mainly to the conduct of an organisation other than the worker’s employer, or to something for which that other organisation has legal responsibility, then the worker can disclose to that other organisation.

(b) A prescribed person
Certain persons are prescribed by Statutory Instrument 339/2014 (as amended by SI 448/2015 and 490/2016) to receive protected disclosures (“prescribed persons”). This includes the heads or senior officials of a range of statutory bodies. Examples of prescribed persons include; the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Data Protection Commissioner, the Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority etc

A worker may make a protected disclosure to a prescribed person if the worker reasonably believes that the relevant wrongdoing falls within the description of matters in respect of which the person is prescribed. However, the 2014 Act also provides an additional requirement in this case. The worker must believe that the information disclosed, and any allegation contained in it, are substantially true.

(c) A Minister of the Government
A worker in the IPA can make a protected disclosure to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

(d) A legal adviser
The 2014 Act allows a protected disclosure to be made by a worker in the course of obtaining legal advice from a barrister, solicitor, trade union official or official of an excepted body (an excepted body is a body which negotiates pay and conditions with an employer but is not a trade union as defined in section 6 of the Trade Union Act 1941).

(e) Alternative external disclosures (in very limited circumstances) (section 10)
In very limited circumstances a worker can disclose in accordance with section 10. It should be noted that there are stringent requirements for alternative external disclosures (for example seeking to disclose directly to the media) to qualify as protected disclosures under Section 10 of the Act.

Certain Special Cases - Defined Categories of information

28. In order to take account of certain special cases, the Protected Disclosures Act provides, under Section 17, for disclosure of information that might reasonably be expected to facilitate the commission of an offence or to prejudice or impair a) the prevention, detection or investigation of offences, the apprehension or prosecution of offenders or the effectiveness of lawful methods, systems, plans or procedures employed for any of those matters, (b) the enforcement or administration of, or compliance with, any law, c) lawful methods, systems, plans or procedures employed for ensuring the safety of the public or the safety or security of persons or property, (d) the fairness of proceedings before a court or tribunal, (e) the security of a relevant institution, or (f) the security of any system of communications of the Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces or a relevant institution. Section 17 should be consulted further when a disclosure of such information is contemplated.

29. The Act also provides, under Section 18, for disclosure of information that might reasonably be expected (a) to affect adversely—(i) the security of the State (ii) the defence of the State or (iii) the international relations of the State, or (b) to reveal, or lead to the revelation of, the identity of a person who has given information in confidence to a public body in relation to the enforcement or administration of the law or any other source of such information given in confidence. In such case, the Act provides for disclosure to be made to the Disclosures Recipient appointed by the Taoiseach for this purpose in accordance with Schedule 3 of the Act.

Anonymous disclosures

30. An anonymous disclosure is where a discloser withholds their identity, and a confidential disclosure is where identity is protected by the recipient. Anonymous disclosures made by workers are not excluded from the protection of the 2014 Act. Anonymous disclosures will be acted upon to the extent that this is possible, although the ability to investigate may be constrained in the absence of the knowledge of the identity of the discloser.

31. It should be noted that keeping the discloser informed and protecting a discloser from penalisation may be difficult or impossible to apply unless the worker’s anonymity lifts. Furthermore, a worker cannot obtain redress under the 2014 Act without identifying themselves.

PROTECTIONS AVAILABLE TO WORKERS

32. The 2014 Act provides specific remedies for workers who suffer because of making a protected disclosure.

33. Penalisation of a person who makes a protected disclosure will not be tolerated by the IPA. The definition of penalisation includes:

suspension or dismissal;
demotion or loss of opportunity for promotion;
Transfer of duties, changes of location of place of work, reduction in wages or change in working hours (jurisprudence, subsequent to the enactment of the legislation, clarifies that transfer of duties in the Civil Service context does not necessarily amount to penalisation under the Act);
the imposition or administering of any discipline, reprimand or other penalty (including a financial penalty);
Unfair treatment;
Coercion, intimidation or harassment;
Discrimination, disadvantage or unfair treatment;
Injury, damage or loss; and
Threat of reprisal.

34. Penalisation of workers who make a disclosure will not be tolerated and workers who feel that they are being subjected to adverse treatment should report the matter immediately to the Head of HR and/or the Head of the Division who will arrange for the matter to be considered, remediated where appropriate, investigated as necessary and assess if and what appropriate disciplinary proceedings are necessary(which may include disciplinary action against supervisors and co-workers).

35. Any complaint of penalisation contrary to the 2014 Act will be dealt with, having regard to the continued obligation to protect the identity of the discloser under the Act. A review of the outcome of any assessment/investigation in respect of any complaint of penalisation may be sought by the discloser. If a review is requested then the worker should report the matter immediately to the Head of HR and/or the Head of the Division who will arrange for a review by someone who has not been involved in any stage of the Protected Disclosures process in respect of the person at issue. There is no entitlement to two reviews in respect of the same issue.

36. Employees, as defined in the Protected Disclosures Act, are protected from dismissal and penalisation as a result of having made a protected disclosure as per Sections 11 and 12 of the Act.

37. All workers (including employees) in making a protected disclosure have civil and criminal immunity (on terms as provided for in Sections 14 and 15 of the Act), and are entitled to take an action in tort for suffering detriment (as provided for in Section 13), or suffering loss arising out of a breach of their identity (as provided for in Section 16).

Protecting the identity of the maker of a protected disclosure under Section 16

38. Where a worker makes a protected disclosure, there is a legal obligation on the Recipient to keep the discloser’s identity confidential in accordance with Section 16 of the Act.

39. The Recipient of a disclosure must not disclose to another person any information that might identify the discloser except when:

The Recipient shows that he or she took all reasonable steps to avoid disclosing the identity of a discloser;
The Recipient has a reasonable belief that the discloser does not object to the revelation of identity;
The Recipient had a reasonable belief that it was necessary for
the investigation of the wrongdoing concerned,
to prevent serious risk to State security, public health, public safety and the environment, or
to prevent crime or the prosecution of a criminal offence crime or is warranted by the public interest;
Where the disclosure is otherwise necessary in the public interest or is required by law.

41. Those involved in the processing of a protected disclosure must take care that in relation to document security and filing (whether digital or manual) the discloser’s identity is protected.

42. Where action is to be taken following a protected disclosure, it is recommended that a process is put in place for consulting with the discloser and, where possible, for gaining the informed consent of the discloser, prior to any action being taken that could identify them. This may include when disclosures are being referred by the public body to an external party.

43. Where it is decided that it is necessary to disclose information that may or will disclose the identity of the discloser, the discloser should be informed of this decision in advance of the disclosure, except in exceptional cases. Except in exceptional cases, the discloser will be allowed to ask for a review of the decision to disclose their identity. If a discloser wishes to appeal a decision to disclose his or her identity the discloser should inform the [Head of Compliance] who will arrange for a review by someone who has not been involved in any stage of the Protected Disclosures process in respect of the person at issue. There is no entitlement to two reviews in respect of the same issue.

44. A discloser whose identity has been compromised contrary to Section 16 of the Act can take an action if the discloser suffers any loss by reason of such a compromised identity.

45. Workers who are concerned that their identity is not being protected should notify the IPA who commit to assess / investigate such notifications and to take appropriate action where necessary.

46. If a complaint is made of penalisation contrary to the 2014 Act, then that complaint will be dealt with, having regard to the continued obligation to protect the identity of the discloser under the Act.

ADMINISTERING THE PROTECTED DISCLOSURES POLICY

Annual report

47. No later than 30th June each year the IPA will publish a report on protected disclosures in the previous year. Specifically, such a report will outline:

The number of protected disclosures made to the body;
The resulting action; and
Any other action and information requested by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

48. MAKING DISCLOSURES INTERNALLY – THE IPA’S PROCEDURES AND HOW TO USE THEM

Content and detail of Disclosures

49. Disclosures should ideally be made in writing and at a minimum:

State that the disclosure is being made under the Protected Disclosure procedures;
Provide the discloser’s name, position in the organisation, place of work and confidential contact details;
the date of the alleged wrongdoing (if known) or the date the alleged wrongdoing commenced or was identified;
Whether or not the wrongdoing is still ongoing;
Indicate whether the wrongdoing has already been disclosed and if so to whom, when and what action was taken; and
Provide relevant information in respect of the relevant wrongdoing.

Persons making a protected disclosure should be encouraged to frame it in terms of information that has come to their attention rather than seeking to draw conclusions about particular individuals or specific offences.

Some procedural matters

Support

50. Workers making a protected disclosure will have the assistance of the Employee Assistance Programme (or equivalent services).

Disciplinary record of discloser and other related matters

51. Where a worker makes a disclosure of alleged wrongdoing it should be given appropriate consideration, in line with the public body’s Procedures. The public body should generally focus on the disclosure made (the message), as opposed to any disciplinary (or other) issues related to the person making the disclosure (the messenger).

52. In general where a protected disclosure is made during an investigation, disciplinary or other process, this should not affect those distinct processes, except where the investigation, disciplinary or other action represents, in essence, a form of penalisation for making a protected disclosure.

Who within the IPA do you make the disclosure to?

53. As set out above, disclosures should be made either to an individual’s line manager or if an individual feels unable to raise the matter with their immediate line manager, the protected disclosure may be raised with a member of the Protected Disclosures Panel of the IPA. These persons are referred to as “recipients” or “disclosure recipients”.

54. The Recipient must keep a detailed record of the assessment process, particularly in respect of verbal disclosures. In cases of verbal protected disclosures, the Recipient should capture the above information in a record, again in such a manner as protects the identity of a Discloser. The Recipient should show the draft record of the assessment to the discloser to provide the discloser an opportunity to comment on it before finalising it.

55. The Recipient must make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the identity of the discloser is protected unless the discloser consents to disclose his or her identity or unless other conditions in the Act are met (see paragraph above).

56. The details of the Panel will be maintained on the IPA’s intranet. A disclosure can be made to a member of the Panel where a discloser wishes to do so in preference to making a disclosure to a line manager. Where a disclosure is made to someone other than a person on the dedicated panel of Recipients, immediate guidance and assistance will be provided to such a recipient by theHead of Compliance

Step 1: The Assessment of the Disclosure by the Recipient

57. Upon receiving a disclosure the Recipient will carry out an initial examination to assess whether or not it should be treated as a protected disclosure, having regard to the provisions of the 2014 Act.

58. The Recipient must apprise the Head of Compliance of the fact of having received a protected disclosure and subsequently of any assessment by the Recipient that further action or investigation is or is not warranted.

59. If it is unclear whether the disclosure qualifies as a protected disclosure, the recipient should treat the disclosure as a protected disclosure (and protect the identity of the discloser in accordance with the Procedures) until satisfied that the information is not a protected disclosure.

60. It may be necessary, as part of the screening process, to differentiate between protected disclosures and personal employment complaints. In some cases the information provided may involve a personal employment complaint and a protected disclosure. For instance, a worker may allege that a colleague is bullying the worker and also allege that the colleague is defrauding the public body. The disclosure should be assessed to determine the nature of the information disclosed and the procedure or procedures that is / are most appropriate to be used to investigate the matter.

61. It may be necessary to separate the different elements of the complaint/disclosure and determine whether any specific disclosure of information relating to a relevant wrongdoing has taken place. If, having assessed the disclosure, it is deemed to relate solely to a personal employment complaint, then the discloser should be encouraged to utilise other processes (for example, the grievance or dignity at work policy) so that that complaint can be dealt with in an appropriate manner. If, having assessed the disclosure, there is a mix of different issues (some involving a protected disclosure, some involving a personal employment complaint) then an appropriate process / processes should be applied to deal with the issues. The process to be applied may differ from case to case.

62. If the Recipient considers that the matter is a protected disclosure the recipient should then consider whether the alleged wrongdoing is something that can or should be investigated or not, and, if so, what steps should be taken as part of such an investigation.

63. Where a Recipient forms the view that a full investigation is required, the Recipient must ensure that the matter is immediately referred to:-

The Head of Compliance who shall ensure that the Director General is informed and;
The Head of internal audit who shall ensure that the Chairperson of the Audit Committee is informed.

The Recipient will make the discloser aware of the outcome of the assessment.

Review of an assessment

64. Where a Recipient has made an assessment that further action or investigation is not warranted, the Discloser has the right to ask the Recipient that that assessment be reviewed. In such an event, the Recipient shall communicate that to the Head of Compliance who shall arrange for a member of the Senior Management Group] (“the Reviewer” ) to review the assessment and advise the Recipient of this , and the Recipient will send the disclosure file to the Reviewer assigned to carry out the review.
The Reviewer will carry out the review of assessment as soon as practically possible and inform the discloser of the result or progress as soon as practicable.

65. Where a Reviewer forms the view that a full investigation is required, he or she must ensure that the matter is immediately referred to:

The Head of Compliance who shall ensure that the Director General is informed and;
The Head of internal audit here], who shall ensure that the Chairperson of the Audit Committee is informed.

There is no entitlement to two reviews in respect of the same issue.

Investigation

67. Where a Recipient (or a subsequent Reviewer) reports that an investigation is warranted in respect of a disclosure, the Head of Compliance will arrange as soon as is practicable, that an investigation is commenced.

68. Investigations in case of an alleged serious wrong-doing will be carried out, as appropriate depending on the nature and scale of the alleged wrongdoing (the Director General having the ultimate authority and direction in this regard), by:

A person at Director level or Principal Officer level nominated by the Director General; or
In cases where the matters may be of such seriousness that that the investigation will more appropriately be carried out externally or by professional experts in a particular area; this could include investigators from any approved framework in place for the Civil Service/Public Service;
in some areas the matter may need to be reported too, and investigated by, An Garda Síochaná or another body with the power with the statutory power and function of investigation of particular; or
The Internal Audit Unit; or
In the case of a relatively minor alleged wrong-doing, however, the investigation will in general be carried out at the level appropriate and in the IPA framework most appropriate and suitable.

Feedback to the discloser

69. The overriding requirement when providing feedback is that no information is communicated that could prejudice the outcome of the investigation or any action that ensues (e.g. disciplinary, or other legal action, including prosecution) for example, by undermining the right to fair procedures enjoyed by the person against whom a report or allegation is made.

70. Subject to the previous paragraph, workers making protected disclosures should be provided with periodic feedback in relation to the matters disclosed and be advised when consideration of the disclosure is complete, except in exceptional cases. This does not require the public body to give a complete account of what the situation is at a particular point in time in terms of progress, but public bodies should generally give reassurance and affirmation that the matter is receiving attention.

71. Any information and feedback should be provided in confidence. There is no obligation to inform the discloser of the progress, or outcome, of any disciplinary process involving another worker which may arise on foot of an investigation occasioned by a protected disclosure. In general, such information is confidential between the employer and the worker who is the subject of a disciplinary process. A discloser should be informed that appropriate action has been taken but is not generally entitled to know what that action was.

Rights of the respondent in an investigation

72. The principles of natural justice will apply in respect of any employee of the IPA who is the subject (the respondent) of any investigation. The Head of Human Resources will arrange that appropriate supports and protections are available as and when appropriate.

Review of investigations carried out under these procedures

73. A discloser may seek a review of the outcome of an investigation. The Director General and Head of Compliance will together arrange for a review of the outcome of the investigation by a person who has not been involved in the initial assessment and/or review of the initial assessment and/or the investigation. There is no entitlement to two reviews in respect of the same issue.

OTHER REPORTING CHANNELS

74. This policy is to give effect to the obligations and provisions of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 and does not replace any legal reporting or disclosure requirements arising under other legislation. For example, disclosures may also be made by workers of wrongdoing in respect of other relevant employment-specific or profession-specific obligations, which may not be covered by the definition of wrongdoing in section 5 of the 2014 Act and may be covered by other statutory protection for disclosures. Where statutory reporting requirements or procedures exist, including where under other laws there is a mandatory reporting requirement these must be fully complied with.

Examples of other legislation which contain reporting provisions include:-

Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995;
Standards in Public Office Act 2001;
Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998;
Competition Act 2002;
Garda Síochána Act 2005;
Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005;
Employment Permits Act 2006;
Consumer Protection Act 2007;
Communications Regulation Act 2002;
Charities Act 2009;
Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2001.

To make a protected disclosure please forward your disclosure in writing to protecteddisclosure@ipa.ie

Protected Disclosures

About Us

Procedures for the Making of Protected Disclosures in the Institute of Public Administration

April 2018