Ex-Garda boss backs whistle blowers

Whistleblowers whose concerns are ignored within their own organisation cannot be criticised for taking their complaints elsewhere, according to a former Garda commissioner.

Pat Byrne said while he believes most issues of complaint “can be dealt with comprehensively within the structure of an organisation”, there were exceptions.

“There are perfectly genuine people who suspect that wrongdoing has not been addressed by an organisation. If concerns are not properly addressed, one cannot complain if the whistleblower then takes it further,” Mr Byrne said.