Comments by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on a general whistleblowers' charter meant legislation for this could no longer be ignored, the Labour Party said today.
A decision was made in 2007 not to roll out a general charter, DPP James Hamilton said, because it might “cut across our system of light regulation.” He said a general charter was important, however, because in many cases if there was no whistleblower witness, it was impossible to build a case.
“The problem is in the absence of that, people will be afraid to come forward because for example they may be victimised at work. They may lose their job and even though they may be able to bring an unfair dismissals case the damages which they might get could be limited to two years employment which could be a lot less than the actual loss they have.”
Labour spokesman on justice Pat Rabbitte said the Government could not ignore Mr Hamilton's comments and called on it to accept his party's Whistleblowers Protection Bill 2010, adding the party had been pressing for such legislation for more than 10 years.
Mr Rabbitte accused the Government of not proceeding with whistleblower legislation because it was "afraid it might offend the powerful vested interests".
"Now that the DPP has added his voice is such an authoritative and unequivocal manner, I cannot see how the government can continue to resist the case for legislation," the former Labour leader said.
"From the banks to the blood bank to the beef industry, the questions remain the same. Did nobody know or suspect? Is it credible that nobody in the system ever stumbled across wrongdoing? Why was nothing reported earlier."
Mr Rabbitte said whistleblower rights were essential "if we are serious about ending the ‘nod and wink’ culture that permeates certain sectors of Irish business and public life".
"I believe Ireland's reputation as a lightly regulated economy is precisely what has got us into so much trouble in the first place. . . . If there had been protection for whistleblowers, we may have been spared the worst of the negligence and recklessness that brought down our banking system," he said.
Mr Hamilton also said he is in favour of examining whether complex and lengthy white-collar criminal trials might be held before panels of judges or juries of people with financial qualifications.
He said although trial by a jury drawn from the public was enshrined in the constitution, Ireland’s move away from light touch financial regulation would likely result in many more white-collar criminal cases emerging.
Commenting this afternoon, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said he would be "very interested" in a more detailed submission to himself or the attorney general from the DPP.
Noting the 1927 juries act abolished special juries, the Minister said there may be a re-examination of the issue to see if such juries should be reintroduced.
"I think the point . . . is well made that there may well be circumstances where there are very significant court cases where perhaps a panel of judges to deal with these issues, who are experts in these areas, should be made available."
Sinn Féin finance spokesman Arthur Morgan also called on the Government to bring forward whistleblower legislation.
“The enactment of legislation to protect employees and others who blow the whistle on illegal or other unacceptable practices is long overdue," he said today.
“This Government can no longer hide behind the apron of private interests who act against the public good. We need to empower employees, we need to protect them and we need to bring forward legislation as a matter of priority,” Mr Morgan said.