The protections afforded to reporting persons under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, as amended, continue to have full force and effect. The operation of the statutory framework is neither suspended nor qualified by the conduct of legislative or policy reviews, and any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect.
The Act imposes clear and enforceable obligations on employers and public bodies in relation to the establishment, operation and resourcing of internal and external reporting channels. It also provides for specialised reporting channels in respect of disclosures relating to law enforcement, security, defence, international relations, and intelligence matters.
The legislation provides a suite of protections for reporting persons. It expressly prohibits penalisation, or the threat of penalisation, arising from the making of a protected disclosure. Penalisation is defined broadly and includes unfair dismissal, suspension, demotion, loss of pay or prospects, adverse changes to working conditions or hours, disciplinary action, reassignment of duties, coercion, intimidation, and harassment.
Statutory protection from penalisation is provided primarily through the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), which may make orders for reinstatement, re-engagement, or compensation of up to five years' remuneration. Decisions of the WRC may be appealed to the Labour Court.
Alternatively, a reporting person may pursue a civil action through the courts, where no statutory cap applies to compensation. The Act also provides immunity from civil liability where a protected disclosure would otherwise give rise to proceedings, including claims for breach of confidentiality. Where criminal proceedings arise in connection with the disclosure of restricted information, the making of a protected disclosure may be relied upon as a statutory defence.
Confidentiality protections are embedded in the legislation. Recipients of protected disclosures are required to take all reasonable steps to safeguard the identity of the reporting person, subject only to limited statutory exceptions. The Act further provides for criminal offences and penalties for penalising a reporting person, taking vexatious legal proceedings against a reporting person, or unlawfully disclosing a reporting person's identity.
The operation and availability of these protections are not affected by the European Commission's ongoing review of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive) or by the upcoming statutory review of the Protected Disclosures Act (due to commence in late 2026). All prescribed persons and public bodies remain fully bound by their statutory obligations, and no administrative processes have been suspended or disapplied as a result of these reviews.
The statutory review process is intended to strengthen, where possible, the whistleblower framework, and stakeholders are encourages to participate and raise any issues identified in practice. Details of the launch of the review will be published on my Department's website in due course.
