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Over 300 whistleblower allegations made to Government departments in four years

Over 300 whistleblower allegations made to Government departments in four years
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Government departments have been accused of wrongdoing on more than 300 occasions over the last four years.

According to The Irish Times, over 200 of these allegations were considered valid for investigation.

Of the 325 disclosures made to Government departments, 217 were looked into, the majority of which were investigated within the department.

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The Department of Justice received the largest number of complaints (68), 44 of which were considered invalid of referred to the appropriate "aegis body/area". Ten complaints to the Department have also been closed.

Whistleblowers made 56 complaints to the Department of Health, 33 of which were deemed valid, while 32 were referred to the HSE or other bodies under the Department's remit.

On the matter of disclosures, joint leader of the Social Democrats Catherine Murphy raised concerns regarding revelations from an RTÉ Investigates programme last week.

The programme revealed a disclosure relating to dossiers held by the Department of Health on the families of children with autism who were involved in legal actions against the State.

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Ms Murphy questioned whether the 2014 Protected Disclosures Act, which aims to provide protection for whistleblowers, was giving the level of security intended.

"On many occasions I've seen whistleblowers who have paid a very heavy price in terms of careers being really ruined," Ms Murphy said.

The Department of Social Protection received 39 disclosures, including 26 complaints which came from five workers.

Of the 15 valid complaints against the Department of Education, 10 have been completed while the rest are ongoing.

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