THE MINISTER for Justice has asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to make a detailed submission on the prosecution of white-collar crime to him or the Attorney General. However, Dermot Ahern has ruled out a whistleblowers’ charter.
Referring to remarks made by DPP James Hamilton, concerning the need for special provisions for the trials of complex financial cases and for a whistleblowers’ charter similar to the Public Interest Disclosure Act in the UK, Mr Ahern said: “We have decided to go a different route.”
This act grants protection to UK workers for whistleblowing in almost every sector, providing for a system of protection for workers who make disclosures that tend to show that a criminal offence has been committed or that a person has failed to comply with a legal obligation.
Mr Hamilton said on RTÉ television at the weekend that it was extremely difficult to build a case without such witnesses coming forward. In the absence of a general whistleblowers’ charter, people would be afraid to come forward for fear of being victimised.
They may lose their job and, even though they may be able to take an unfair dismissals case, the damages may not compensate them for the loss they had suffered, Mr Hamilton added.
Mr Ahern said the Government had decided to deal with the issue sectorally, with provision for the protection of persons reporting suspected corruption offences in good faith in the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2008, at present awaiting committee stage in the Dáil.
In addition, there was legal protection for whistleblowers protecting those reporting suspected offences in good faith in the Nama Act 2009, the Consumer Protection Act 2007, the Competition Act 2002, the Employment Law Compliance Bill 2008, the Garda Regulations under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and legislation in the health sector, he said.
Referring to Mr Hamilton’s comments that there might be difficulties for juries in complex financial cases, he said: “I would be very interested if he would give a more detailed submission to me or the Attorney General.
“We abolished special juries in 1927. We could look at re-establishing them. There may be circumstances where the case requires a panel of judges.
“The jury system has worked well. The Law Reform Commission is looking at the issue of whether juries are as representative as they should be. People without specialist knowledge may be better able to see the wood for the trees.”