Call for urgent action on EU directive to protect whistleblowers

European Union member states must move quickly to protect whistleblowers by transposing a new EU directive into law, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) and its international sister agencies have said.

Only three EU member states have prepared legislation to provide for the new protections created by the EU Whistleblowers Directive, the deadline for doing which was Friday.

The Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021 is expected to be enacted in the State in the first quarter of next year.

Gsoc, which investigates complaints made against Garda members, last week hosted a conference for the Network of European Integrity and Whistleblowing Authorities (NEIWA).

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The so-called ‘Dublin declaration’ has arisen from that conference and Gsoc said it reminded EU member states that the whistleblowers directive must be completely transposed into national law.

The declaration, published by NEIWA on Friday, also says whistleblowers “should be protected against any form of retaliation and are entitled to the protection measures available”.

The EU directive requires employers with more than 50 staff to establish whistle-blowing procedures. It also reverses the burden of proof, thereby requiring employers to show they did not penalise a worker for making a protected disclosure.

Gsoc was one of the NEIWA’s initial group of members and it has since expanded to 30 institutions in 22 EU member states. Ireland’s Office of the Ombudsman is the group’s newest member.