Protected Disclosures - resources

There are many resources available on the topic of protected disclosures. On this page we have gathered materials  from the Institute, Government, accountancy and law firms on the subject matter.

Institute resources

The Institute with BDO Ireland, co-hosted a webinar on 9 May 2023 entitled “Navigating the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022” which included an overview of the legislation.

There are a number of articles which may be of interest: 

"Safeguarding the saviours”  an article written in March 2022 on the 2022 Act  and how to prepare for it by Michael McGrath TD, a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and TD for Cork South Central when he was Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform.

Is your whistleblowing policy is up to scratch an article written in November 2022 by Ita Gibney Chair of Gibney Communications .

Whistleblowing policy and process – what you need to know an article written by Grainne Madden of  GMJ Associates in December 2022 and an interview with Gráinne Madden in February 2022 on whistleblowing and speaking-up requirements as part of the Institute’s  Governance Webcast Series.

Government resources

Readers can look on the Institute's Protected Disclosures “Ireland “page for resources available from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPER) under the “Legislation and guidance “ heading.

The 2022 Act established the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner (“PDC”). The role of Office of the PDC is to send reports of wrongdoing to the appropriate organisation in accordance with the Protected Disclosures legislation. Please visit the webpages of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner for information on various matters including how to report a wrongdoing and what happens if you contact the PDC.

Accountancy and law  firms-Ireland

Readers, in particular employers, may find useful A &L Goodbody thoughts and insights after 18 months of the new whistleblowing regime | A&L Goodbody LLP (algoodbody.com) .It is written in July 2024, 18 months after Ireland transposed the EU Whistleblowing Directive through the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 (“2022 Act”). It notes for example a substantial increase in the number of whistleblowing claims and discusses the question most frequently asked by its international employer clients. This is whether the employer can retain its centralised reporting channel at parent company level with the introduction of the 2022 Act or whether each legal entity in a group has to have its own internal reporting channels and procedures.

Walkers international law firm has produced a number of guidance and advisory documents on protected disclosures legislation and the changes made by the 2022 Act. This includes an advisory issued in February 2022 after the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022 was published and an advisory issued in November 2022 after  the 2022 Act was passed with details of the changes and a process map on internal reporting.

In July 2022 William Fry LLP participated in a very comprehensive set of webinars discussing the EU Whistleblowing Directive and providing cross-border insights on the transposition of the Directive.

Blowing the whistle: is your organisation ready for the new whistleblowing legislation (Ireland)? An article published in August 2022 by Addleshaw Goddard . The article  went through the  significant change to employment practice for private sector employers which will require employers to introduce new policies and procedures to adhere to the 2022 Act and outlined how employers can prepare for the commencement of the 2022  Act.

 Wide-Ranging Changes to Whistle-blowing Laws Imminent an article by McCann Fitzgerald LLP of September 2022 .

In October 2022

 Protected Disclosures in Ireland- is your organisation ready?   Mason Hayes &Curran LLP  employment update article.

“Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act, 2022 - Whistleblowing Just Got Louder!”  RDJ LLP  article where they took an in depth look at the obligations now arising for employers and what preparations need to be made.

-  Employers have until 1 January 2023 to comply with the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022.Arthur Cox LLP employer Alert.

Accountancy and law  firms-United Kingdom

A short briefing on whistleblowing issued in July 2022 by Holman Fenwick Willan LLP (HFW) why a whistleblowing programme is the best way of protecting corporations from a whistleblowing scandal and emphasizing the importance of a whistleblowing policy.

 A whistleblowing podcast: key developments and issues for financial services firms. produced in September 2022 by Herbert Smith Freehills. In it listeners were reminded of the statutory and regulatory whistleblowing framework in the UK and there was a summary of  some interesting recent case law developments and the key issues coming out of them, about which financial services firms need to be aware.

what does a good whistleblowing framework look like?  is a  webinar held by Grant Thornton UK LLP in June 2022. In its whistleblowing forum, the expert panel explored how to build a framework that protects people who raise concerns and fits into your firm.

Whistleblowing investigations – 10 things to avoid  an interesting article published by Clyde & Co LLP in October 2021 which sets out 10 of the most common traps that companies can fall into when investigating whistleblowing allegations. See also the Clyde & Co article of April 2021 entitled  Three critical factors for an effective corporate whistleblowing “hotline” which looks at the topic of corporate whistleblowing “hotlines” and sets out three critical factors that companies should always consider when seeking to increase the effectiveness of a whistleblowing system.

In 2021 law firm Field Fisher authored an article about the whistleblowing charity Protect which was calling for changes to UK whistleblowing legislation. The report is entitled 'Workplace Whistleblowing: Why We Need a Legal Duty on Employers' and calls for reform of current whistleblowing laws contained in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA).

There are a couple of interesting articles on the divergence between EU and UK whistleblowing regimes. DLA Piper global law firm published one in December 2021 entitled The EU's new whistleblowing regime – why it matters to UK businesses and discusses the divergence between EU and UK regimes. In 2022, Simmons & Simmons LLP did a feature on the EU Whistleblowing Directive, the impact of the Directive on the UK since it no longer forms part of the EU ,the then current implementation status across its European network, as Member States introduce draft legislation, or strengthen existing protections to transpose the Directive.

Relevant case law

Click here for the 2023 ECHR case of Halet vs Luxembourg. The plaintiff was fined €1,000 euros in a Luxembourg court for disclosing tax documents concerning some of his employer’s clients. Mr Halet alleged that his conviction amounted to disproportionate interference with his freedom of expression. The Luxembourg courts did not accept whistleblowing as justification for Mr Halet’s actions, taking the view that the disclosure of the documents, which were subject to professional secrecy, had caused his employer harm that outweighed the general interest.

The ECHR held, by a majority that there had been no violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The  Court held that the domestic courts had struck a fair balance in the present case between the need to protect the rights of the applicant’s employer on the one hand and the need to protect Mr Halet’s freedom of expression on the other.

These pages are provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional or legal advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.