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Protected disclosures
From Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO)
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The Commission is committed to creating a culture that supports the making of protected disclosures and provides protection for reporting persons.
A protected disclosure, in the Protected Disclosures Act, is a disclosure of information which, in the reasonable belief of a worker, tends to show one or more relevant wrongdoings; came to the attention of the worker in a work-related context; and is disclosed in the manner prescribed in the Act.
The Secretary to the Standards in Public Office Commission is a prescribed person under the Protected Disclosures Act.
To make a protected disclosure to a prescribed person you must meet the above requirements and you must reasonably believe that:
- The report you are making is within the remit of the Standards in Public Office Commission
- The information discloses and any allegation contained in it are substantially true
You can make a protected disclosure to the Secretary of the Standards in Public Office Commission on matters relating to the supervision of:
- All matters relating to the supervision of the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001 in so far as they apply to specified persons and to members of the Oireachtas who are not office holders, within the meaning of those Acts, including investigations and reports in relation to possible contraventions of those Acts
All matters relating to the supervision of the Electoral Acts 1992 to 2019 in regard to:
- The disclosure of donations to political parties
- Members of the Oireachtas
- Members of the European Parliament, and candidates at elections to Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann and The European Parliament
- The obligations of third parties
- The obligations of corporate donors
- The monitoring of limitations on expenditure by election candidates and political parties
- The expenditure of Exchequer Funding received by qualified political parties
All matters relating to the supervision of the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 1938 with regard to the expenditure of funding (Parliamentary Activities Allowance) received by the parliamentary leaders of qualifying parties and by independent members of the Oireachtas.
The Secretary is not currently a prescribed person for matters relating to the Regulation of Lobbying Act.
To make a protected disclosure to the Secretary of the Commission, you can do so by contacting us in one of the following ways:
By phone at 01 639 5797, or by email to our dedicated email address disclosures@sipo.ie
We have a procedure which sets out what will happen once we have received a disclosure.
We encourage those seeking to make a protected disclosure to obtain independent advice beforehand.
Transparency International Ireland operates a confidential helpline, and provides access to free legal advice on making protected disclosure through Transparency Legal Advice Centre. The Helpline can provide free referrals for professional counselling on request.
The Commission is committed to creating a culture that supports the making of protected disclosures and provides protection for reporting persons.
For more information on protected disclosures, visit the Office of Protected Disclosures Commission website.
Seven protected disclosures were received in 2023, which were considered by the Commission in accordance with the provisions of the Ethics Acts. At the time of this report, two of these disclosures are still under consideration by the Commission. Aspects of one of these disclosures were transmitted to the Office of the Protected Disclosure Commissioner in accordance with the Secretary’s obligations under section 7A as they did not fall within the Standards Commission’s remit.
Four disclosures received were closed as they either did not come within remit or did not provide prima facie evidence to sustain the disclosure.
An additional disclosure was received anonymously, however, under section 8 of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001, the Commission is prohibited from investigating a complaint regarding a specified act unless the complainant’s identity is known and therefore this report falls outside the Commission’s remit. This report was therefore referred to the Office of the Protected Disclosure Commissioner under Section 7A of the Protected Disclosures Act.
The Standards in Public Office Commission has established external reporting channels and procedures in accordance with the Protected Disclosures Act. This includes a dedicated mailbox – disclosures@sipo.ie – to which only designated persons have access. Reports can also be received by post using the address available on our website or by leaving a message at 01 639 5797, these are available above.
The above link also provides access to a downloadable Protected Disclosure Form and our external procedure for handling reports. Our procedures continue to be updated in line with best practice and recent statutory guidance provided by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.
One protected disclosure was received in 2022, however, having considered the complaint in accordance with the legislative provisions of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, the Commission was of the view that the matter did not qualify as a protected disclosure. The complainant was notified accordingly.
One protected disclosure was received in 2021, however, having considered the complaint the Commission was of the view that the matters raised were not within its remit and the complainant was notified accordingly.
A protected disclosure received in 2019 was examined by the Commission and was subsequently closed in 2021.
No new protected disclosures were received in 2020. A disclosure made in 2019 remained under consideration in 2020.
One protected disclosure was received in 2019, which was considered by the Commission in accordance with the provisions of the Ethics Acts. The complaint was still under consideration at the time of this report.
One protected disclosure was received in 2018, however, having considered the complaint the Commission was of the view that there was insufficient information to proceed and the complainant was notified accordingly.
A protected disclosure received in late 2017 was examined by the Commission and was subsequently closed in 2018.
One protected disclosure was received in 2017, which was considered by the Commission in accordance with provisions of the Ethics Acts. The Commission considered that many of the issues raised were not within its remit and fell instead within the remit of other public bodies. A response issued accordingly. However, as one of the matters raised did fit within the Commission's mandate, it was referred for assessment in accordance with the Ethics in Public Office Acts. Consideration of the matter is ongoing as at the time of this report.
There were no protected disclosures received.