The Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 (the “Act”) gives effect to the Whistleblowing Directive and was signed into law on 21 July 2022. The Act amends the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, which is a prior piece of legislation in Irish law dealing with whistleblowing.
Legislation passed / Directive implemented. However, the internal reporting channel and procedural requirements will not come into effect for certain sized organisations until 17 December 2023.
1.1. Where an offence has been, is being, or is likely to be committed.
1.2. Where a person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation (other than one arising under their contract of employment or other working contract).
1.3. Where a miscarriage of justice has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur.
1.4. Where the health and safety of any individual has been, is being or is likely to be endangered.
1.5. Where the environment has been, is being or is likely to be damaged.
1.6. 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.
1.7. An act or omission by or on behalf of a public body that is oppressive, discriminatory or grossly negligent or constitutes mismanagement.
No additional categories although the categories specified in the Directive are described in more granular detail in the Act.
The person(s) who is appointed to follow up on reports should be impartial and competent to do so.
No. They are not generally exempt from the scope of the legislation.
However, an entity with fewer than 50 workers is exempt from the requirement to establish, maintain and operate reporting channels and procedures for making reports (albeit that this obligation can be extended by Ministerial Order).
This exemption excludes public bodies and those companies subject (i) to particular EU acts around financial services, products and markets, the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing (as set out in Part 1.B of the Annex to the Directive); or (ii) the other particular EU acts around (a) financial services; (b) prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; (c) transport safety; and (d) protection of the environment (as set out in Part II of the Annex to the Directive).
N/A
Yes. There should be an acknowledgement in writing of the receipt of a report within 7 days. The reporting person must be provided with feedback within three months of the date on which the report was acknowledged in writing (or within three months and 7 days if it was not acknowledged in writing).
If the reporting person then requests in writing, they must be provided with further feedback at three-month intervals, until the report is closed, dating from the period on which the first set of feedback is provided after the initial report.
Yes; however, there is no obligation to follow up on an anonymous report, but a recipient entity may, if it considers it appropriate to do so, follow up on the subject-matter of an anonymous report.
No. However, if a private sector entity does decide to accept anonymous reports, the conditions pursuant to which such reports can be accepted and followed up on should be communicated to employees. If accepted, the same procedural requirements (as apply to non-anonymous reports) should also apply to anonymous reports.
The decision on whether or not to follow up on an anonymous report should be subject to appropriate internal documentation. In particular, a record should be made of its receipt, together with any information that receiving entity considers necessary and appropriate for the purposes of the Act applying, should that person be subsequently identified and penalised for having made that report. Any such records should only be retained for as long as is necessary and proportionate for the purposes of compliance with the Act or any other enactment.
A worker can make a claim to the Workplace Relations Commission and compensation of up to 260 weeks’ pay may be ordered by the Workplace Relations Commission where a worker has been penalised for making a protected disclosure.
If the worker is not yet in receipt of remuneration by virtue of their position, e.g., they are a job applicant or volunteer, the Workplace Relations Commission can award maximum compensation of €15,000.
A worker can also take an action in tort against a person who causes them detriment because they have made a protected disclosure. Such an action would be taken before the Courts. However, if an action is tort is taken, that precludes the worker from also pursuing a claim to the Workplace Relations Commission for redress.
Yes. The requirement is simply that employers with more than 50 employees must facilitate the making of whistleblowing reports with a duty to “establish, maintain and operate internal reporting channels and procedures.” This obligation will not apply to employers with between 50 and 249 employees until 17 December 2023. For employers with 250 workers or more, this obligation applied immediately with the commencement of the Act on 1 January 2023.
