On 1 April Transparency International Ireland (TII) launched a report highlighting the risk of cross sectoral corruption in Ireland. The report anonymously collates instances of corruption reported through the TII Speak UP helpline. Over 500 individual instances of corruption are documented in the report across a number of sectors including local government, health services, education, legal services, charities, civil service and public administration. The Protected Disclosures Act which was enacted in 2014 has given increased protection to workers who make protected disclosures under the Act.
According to the report, around 50% of speak up callers categorised as whistleblowers reported that they had suffered ‘whistleblower retaliation’ for making their concerns known. Retaliation in these instances included dismissal from their employment or missing out on further employment opportunities such as promotion. The sector most impacted by instances of whistleblower retaliation was the health sector with over 20% of instances of retaliation recorded in the sector. Despite the stark nature of the figures and sectors mentioned in the report, TII warned against inferences that these sectors are more corrupt than other sectors of the economy.
According to TII CEO John Devitt “the report is not a league table of the most and least corrupt organisations or the most honest counties in Ireland. Instead, we’re highlighting the kind of risks that policy makers and senior executives need to be aware of and the measures we think will help address corruption, fraud and other forms of wrongdoing. No organisation or professional sector is immune from malpractice.”
Click here to read the TII ‘Speak Up’ report.
Click here to read a summary of the key findings in the Irish Times.