A WHISTLEBLOWER protection organisation says we’ll see “many more Vicky Phelans” after new legislation was passed discouraging people to speak out.

An amendment to the Protected Disclosures Act now requires whistleblowers to prove they acted in the ‘general public interest’ when using ‘commercially-valuable’ information.

Transparency International Ireland reckon the country will be faced with 'more Vicky Phelans' because of this legislation was passed Credit: PA:Press Association

Otherwise they risk facing up to three years in prison or a €50,000 fine.

Transparency International (TI) Ireland said the country will now inevitably be faced with “more Vicky Phelans, many more abuse scandals, and more corrupt bankers” as employees will be afraid to speak out.

The rights body have warned that “consumers, patients and the general public will be the real losers” and have written to Business and Enterprise Minister Heather Humphreys calling on her to withdraw the amendment as a matter of urgency.

Chief executive John Devitt says whistleblowers all over the country will be knocked by this, and will think twice before lifting the lid on Ireland’s next potential scandal.

Chief executive of Transparency International Ireland John Devitt Credit: PA:Press Association

Mr Devitt told the Irish Sun: “This is the most significant setback in the fight against white collar crime in a decade. The amendment didn’t need to be made and it seems to have been made on the back of a misunderstanding of European law.

“It means that even if you report a crime to the gardai and the report is true, all the company has to do is allege that you are in breach of the new trade secret regulation and you’ll have to defend your own character and motivation in court.

“This will inevitably lead to people sitting on serious information that should be brought to light. This will have a serious effect on any whistleblower in our banks, healthcare, IT, or anyone wishing to blow the whistle on a co-worker of negligence or malpractice.

“They will now think twice about speaking up because they could face prosecution, even for just passing it on to a journalist.”

Minister for Business and Enterprise Heather Humphreys

The amendment has been made under the EU Protection of Trade Secrets Regulation and has recently been introduced by Minister Humphreys to transpose the EU Trade Secrets Directive.

The regulation amends Ireland’s Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (PDA) to require whistleblowers to show they were motivated by the general public interest, even if they report a crime to the relevant authorities and their allegations are true.

Devitt explained: “Requiring a whistleblower to show they were motivated by the general public interest means that they will be expected to show that their motives were pure, that they bore no ill-will towards their colleagues or that they were the ideal employee.

“Lawyers for rogue employers or trade-secret holders will inevitably question the whistleblower’s character to show that they were motivated by malice or self-interest.

Scandals happen because whistleblowers are being silenced. We saw that with Maurice McCabe, we see it with Vicky Phelan and the victims of the cervical smear test scandal John Devitt

“Scandals happen because whistleblowers are being silenced. We saw that with Maurice McCabe, we see it with Vicky Phelan and the victims of the cervical smear test scandal.

“These happen across all sectors and all businesses because information is not being acted upon, which is invariably what’s going to happen now.

“It’s inevitable we’re going to see more cases like hers (Vicky Phelan) in the future.”

Anna Myers, Director of the Whistleblowing International Network added: “Ireland had the strongest whistleblower law in the EU and had inspired reform with its legislation around the world.

“It looks like the Government has broken something that didn’t need to be fixed. Irish whistleblowers, business and the Irish public will be the real losers here.”

A spokesman for the Department of Business and Enterprise said: “To avail of the protections of the 2014 Act, a worker must show they had a reasonable belief that the information disclosed tends to show wrongdoing.

“Transparency Ireland is concerned that the motivation of the worker will be called into question.

“While the amendment to the 2014 introduces a subjective test of acting for the purpose of protecting the general public interest, this test applies to only workers who disclose information that comes within the definition of a trade secret.

“In any action taken by the trade secret holder under the Directive and transposing SI 188 of 2018 the court can take many factors into account before making a ruling.”