Helen McEntee: I have always adhered to the legislation on whistleblowers

Helen McEntee: 'It is very easy for claims to be made knowing that, because of the legislation itself, I can't comment on, nor should I comment on any protected disclosure.' File picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Helen McEntee has insisted that she has always followed whistleblower legislation and is now not in a position to comment on allegations against her.

The former justice minister has come under increasing pressure in recent days following an RTÉ documentary about garda whistleblowers.

It follows on from work done by both this news outlet and other publications highlighting issues within An Garda Siochana.

A protected disclosure on behalf of Detective Superintendent Brian O'Reilly was sent to Ms McEntee as then justice minister in September 2023.

The disclosure included allegations about faulty holsters and the storage and use of faulty ammunition.

She forwarded the disclosure to the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commission (OPDC), which referred it to the secretary general of the Department of Justice, Oonagh McPhillips.

However, Ms McEntee subsequently referred the disclosure back to An Garda Síochána.

Speaking in New York at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High Level Week, Ms McEntee insisted that she had always followed whistleblower legislation.

"I have always adhered to the legislation. I have always adhered to the advice that's provided to me, and anyone that's received a protected disclosure will know that there is legal advice provided, and I've always adhered to that," Ms McEntee said.

“It is very easy for claims to be made knowing that, because of the legislation itself, I can't comment on, nor should I comment on any protected disclosure.

“While there are individuals that make the protected disclosures, there are also individuals that are subject to protected disclosures.”

Elsewhere, the defense minister also cast doubt on the future of Irish Defence Forces members being sent to Lebanon in the near future.

The Unifil mission will come to an end at the end of the year, with no UN resolution passed to renew it.

"I don't think that we're going to see a UN-backed mission anytime soon. I'll be very honest," she said.

“So reports, perhaps that the US have not supported one or might not, do not surprise me.

“But we need to make sure that a CSDP mission, which is a European mission, that can progress, and obviously that is a mission that the EU can progress itself.”

Trade meetings in New York

As part of her participation in UNGA High Level Week, Ms McEntee, as foreign affairs and trade minister, is engaging in several meetings on trade.

She will meet with Granite Digital, which has grown from a start-up in West Cork to an employer of more than 250 people across four continents.

It is Ireland's largest independent digital agency and works with clients including Red Bull, Intel, Audi, and Concentrix.

Ms McEntee will mark Granite's latest US acquisition, brand and design agency Right Hat, which will further expand the company's North American presence and highlight the growing contribution Irish businesses are making to investment and employment in the US.

“Irish companies are increasingly ambitious international investors,” said Ms McEntee.

“Granite's growth from West Cork into the United States is a strong example of the confidence, innovation, and ambition we are seeing from Irish businesses.

“I want to see more Irish companies growing internationally, investing in the United.”

Ms McEntee also visited the site of Ground Zero to lay a wreath, just weeks after the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy in the city.

She met Sean Egan, an Irish American man, whose father Martin J Egan Jr, was a firefighter and died at the Twin Towers.

He pointed out his father's name on the memorial, before Ms McEntee took a tour of the museum.