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Protected Disclosures Commissioner publishes annual report for 2024
From Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner (OPDC)
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The Protected Disclosures Commissioner, Ger Deering, today published a report on the work of his Office during 2024 dealing with reports of wrongdoing in the workplace.
The Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner sends reports it receives of wrongdoing in the workplace (sometimes called ‘whistleblowing’) to the organisation best placed to follow-up on the report, such as a regulator for that area. Mr Deering’s Office also deals with a report of workplace-wrongdoing if there is no appropriate organisation to deal with it.
Speaking on the publication of his annual report for 2024 the Commissioner said that:
“The protected disclosures regime is complex and can be difficult for people to navigate. My Office assists people in finding the most appropriate place to report an allegation of wrongdoing in the workplace.”
The Protected Disclosures Commissioner Ger Deering, who is also Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, added:
“Those who call out real wrongdoing must be protected. It is also essential that legitimate reports are correctly followed up and that the focus is on the wrongdoing - not the person who reported it.”
The Protected Disclosures Commissioner received 262 reports in 2024 from workers and others alleging wrongdoing in the workplace – slightly down on the 2023 figure of 283, the Office’s first year in operation.
During 2024 it sent 247 of the reports to organisations that were best placed to deal with the allegations, with the Commissioner’s Office dealing with nine of the reports itself.
Further details are set out in the Protected Disclosures Commissioner’s Annual Report 2024 available at www.opdc.ie
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Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner (OPDC) Annual Report 2024
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Note for Editors
Important: In relation to the tables set out on page 20 of the annual report (‘Top 5 persons the OPDC transmitted reports to’) the figures do not necessarily reflect reports or wrongdoing in that organisation. Rather, it reflects the organisation best-placed to deal with the allegation of wrongdoing, for example those with a regulatory role in that area.
The Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner was set up under the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act, 2022 The Act provides that the Ombudsman (currently Ger Deering) will be the Protected Disclosures Commissioner. The Office commenced operations on 1 January 2023. The role of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner is to send reports of wrongdoing in the workplace (received from a worker, a Government Minister, or a ‘prescribed person’ such as a regulator), to the most appropriate organisation to follow-up on the report in accordance with the Act.
In certain circumstances, the Protected Disclosures Commissioner will consider a report of wrongdoing and follow it up if there is no other appropriate organisation.
Therefore, someone wishing to make a protected disclosure can contact their employer, a Government Minister, or a ‘prescribed person’ such as the Workplace Relations Commission or HIQA. If they are unsure where to go, they can also contact the Protected Disclosures Commissioner who will send it to the person best placed to deal with it.
Media Queries:
Dave Nutley
Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner
Ph: 086 412 0240
Email: david.nutley@ombudsman.ie
6 Earlsfort Terrace
Dublin 2
www.opdc.ie