Letter from the Editor
WHO would be a whistleblower in this country? The 2014 Protected Disclosures Act was put in place to make it easier for employees to speak up about alleged wrongdoing in their workplace. That was the theory — too often it’s different in practice. Many have found that Ireland is still a a cold climate when you’re revealing inconvenient truths.
On pages 10 and 11, over 6,000 words, Paul Kimmage tells part one of a two-part story based on protected disclosures made by a senior official with the Department of Agriculture. He quotes a judge who, after jailing a farmer for tampering with animal tags, said: “This type of offence is terribly serious, endangering the health of the nation, the confidence of the consumer, the integrity of the export system and the capacity to deal with outbreaks of disease.”
That quote goes to the heart of the matter. For a nation that places great store in its reputation as a food producer and exporter, you would expect a zero-tolerance policy toward any practices that might potentially affect that reputation. This is one man’s story of what happened when he tried to do the right thing, by enforcing the law.
The latest Speak Up report by Transparency Ireland International states: “Many whistleblowers have continued to report that blowing the whistle has been a life-changing experience for the worse.” Time and again, with depressing predictability, the whistleblower is on the receiving end of character attacks or questions about their motivation, often with some unfounded slurs thrown in for good measure.
Attack the messenger, undermine the message: Mairia Cahill knows all about that. On page 27 she writes about how she was the victim of a “hatchet job” by Roy Greenslade, after she revealed she had been raped by a senior IRA figure aged 16. The former Guardian journalist last week admitted to being a long-time IRA supporter, a position he failed to disclose when seeking to discredit Cahill.
Several writers reflect on the extraordinary scandal that has resulted in three resignations at Davy, Ireland’s largest stockbroker. Earlier in the week, it appeared that Davy, having been fined €4.1m and reprimanded by the Central Bank, was intent on brazening it out without anyone falling on their sword. We now have casualties, but as Shane Ross writes on page 24, “the Davy disease will not be cured by a few high-profile resignations”. You can take that to the bank.
On the eve of International Women’s Day, we also have outstanding, truly moving cover stories in both People & Culture and Life magazine. Both are strongly recommended. I hope you enjoy the paper.