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From Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner (OPDC)
Published on
Last updated on
From Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner (OPDC)
Published on
Last updated on
A whistleblower (reporting person) is someone who reports work-related wrongdoing. The Protected Disclosures Act refers to “whistleblowing” as a “protected disclosure”.
Reporting persons are advised to contact Transparency International Ireland if they wish to seek advice before submitting their report to this Office. They are also advised to participate in our pre-engagement procedure. Once a report is submitted to us it is not possible to withdraw it.
The main role of the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner is to send reports of work-related wrongdoing to the most appropriate body for initial assessment and follow-up.
When deciding where to send a report, the Protected Disclosures Commissioner will first try to identify an appropriate prescribed person. Prescribed Persons are public service bodies, mainly regulators, who have been designated to receive disclosures which fall within their area of responsibility directly from any person or body. Examples of prescribed persons include the Charities Regulatory Authority, ComReg and the Health and Safety Authority. A full list may be found here.
Where the Commissioner is unable to identify a prescribed person to whom to send a report, he will instead seek to identify an ‘other suitable person’. ‘Other suitable persons’ are persons who appear to the Commissioner to be appropriate recipients for reports where the subject-matter of the report falls within that person’s area of responsibility. Examples include government departments and the heads of suitable organisations.
In cases where no appropriate recipient can be identified, the Commissioner will himself accept a report of wrongdoing for assessment and follow-up.