Source: thetimes.co.uk
Officials fear Ireland may struggle to implement the EU Directive on Whistleblowing before the deadline. Minutes from board meetings at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform highlight concern for meeting the deadline, stating that “…there are a number of implementation challenges facing transposition including having both the legislation enacted and the institutional arrangements in place by 17 December 2021…”
John Devitt, chief executive of Transparency International Ireland has said that COVID-19 has hampered progress: “…the legislative agenda has put everything back nine to twelve months. That is to be expected. We were told they were aiming to have it in place by December 17…”
A spokesperson for the Department of Public Expenditure said it intended for legislation to been enacted by the deadline, pointing out that there were several significant required amendments to Ireland’s Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) arising from the Directive, including:
– Expanding the personal scope of who can make a protected disclosure to include volunteers, unpaid trainees, shareholders and others;
– An obligation on all private sector organisations with 50 or more employees to establish formal channels and procedures for their staff to report wrongdoing;
– In proceedings where a person has been penalised for reporting wrongdoing, the burden of proof is to be reversed so that it is the employer, not the whistleblower, who must prove that the penalisation did not occur because he or she reported wrongdoing.