Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2026
101. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Defence the number of protected disclosures that have gone missing or have been compromised that have been submitted to her Department or State bodies that are responsible to her Department. [32284/26]
View answerI must state at the outset that I cannot comment on any individual protected disclosure submission due to the confidentiality expected by reporting persons and required by the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (as amended).
The Deputy references potentially “missing” and/or “compromised” disclosures that have been submitted to this Department. Due to the amendments made to the Protected Disclosures Act, the procedures followed by Ministers upon receipt of a protected disclosure require that the information is transmitted, without consideration, to the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner within ten days. Once the Commissioner has considered the report, he determines the suitable organisation to oversee the assessment of the report.
To examine the issue that you have raised, I have requested officials to conduct checks across relevant systems and consult the appropriate file storage locations. I have also tasked officials to work with the Commissioners office and verify transmission numbers.
Should any new information come to light, the Department will take all necessary steps to assess and address the matter promptly.
It should be noted that from 2017 until March 2025 the Department and the Defence Forces operated a joint civil-military Protected Disclosures Office. From the 1 April 2025 the Department and the Defence Forces operate separate offices in this regard.
