Over 280 reports of alleged workplace wrongdoing were received by the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner (OPDC) in 2023.
The OPDC was established on January 1st, 2023, under the Protect Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022, and is tasked with transmitting reports of alleged wrongdoing to the necessary person or body for follow-up.
In instances where the OPDC is unable to identify an appropriate person or body to further the report, the commission will examine the allegations.
The office's annual report for 2023, published on Tuesday, revealed a total of 283 reports were received last year, with education receiving the highest volume of disclosures (42).
The aviation sector drew 39 reports of alleged wrongdoing, followed by defence (34) and local authorities (23).
Of the total number of reports received last year, 267 were transmitted to another prescribed/other suitable persons.
Under the Act, prescribed persons are public service bodies, mainly regulators, tasked with dealing with disclosures associated with their sector, such as the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Fourteen cases were handled by the OPDC, and two are on-hand and awaiting transmission this year.
Departments
More than half (171) of the reports received in 2023 came from people in government departments, while 88 came directly from a reporting person and 24 were from prescribed persons.
The report also revealed the breakdown of the top five government departments which transmitted reports of alleged wrongdoing to the OPDC, with the Departments of Defence and Justice each sending 26 such reports last year.
The Department of Education was close behind, with 25, followed by the Departments of Transport and the Taoiseach, which each transmitted 17.
In terms of the government departments to which the OPDC transmitted reports, the Departments of Defence (24), Education (23), Justice (10), Housing, Local Government & Heritage, and Enterprise, Trade & Employment (both eight) made up the top five.
The prescribed person/other suitable person which received the most reports from the OPDC during the year was the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, with 27, followed by the HSE (14), the Irish Aviation Authority (11), the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (10), and the Central Bank of Ireland (eight).
The OPDC notes that the number of reports transmitted to an organisation does not necessarily reflect reports or wrongdoing in that organisation, but rather reflects the organisation best-placed to deal with the allegation.
Our experience over the first year of operation is that the protected disclosures regime can be confusing to navigate.
Data on reports of alleged wrongdoing submitted by individuals show the vast majority of people only submitted one such report during the year.
However, a small number of people submitted numerous reports, with one person accounting for 36 of those submitted last year, while two other individuals submitted 35 and 21 reports respectively over the same period.
The report acknowledged there have been learnings during the first year of the OPDC's operations, highlighting gaps in the relevant legislation as an area which must be addressed.
"Our experience over the first year of operation is that the protected disclosures regime can be confusing to navigate," the report adds.
To help clarify the work and remit of the OPDC, the report also contains a Q&A section, providing information on topics which have frequently arisen in the past year, such as how the office receives reports, and what it does when it receives a report.
Protected Disclosures Commissioner Ger Deering described his office's first year as one of "learning and growth, and not without some challenges".
He said an issue which the OPDC found is creating "significant challenges" is the "incredibly short time limits set out in our governing legislation in relation to the statutory deadlines within which we are required to respond to reports".
"I strongly believe that these mandatory deadlines should be amended to ensure that our office can continue to work to the highest standards with the resources we have to hand," he added.
Mr Deering also called for the Government to act on the legislative issues highlighted in the report, "specifically gaps where we have identified a lack of regulatory or other oversight, including in the health sector".
