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Department of Health publishes Independent Review of allegations under Protected Disclosures Act 2014
Today (Wednesday, 21 April), the Department of Health publishes the Report of an independent review carried out under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 into a number of allegations originally received through a protected disclosure in February 2020.
The Review was procured by the Department of Health and was conducted by Mr Conleth Bradley SC between July and November 2020 under the provisions of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. The Review was independent and Mr. Bradley met with the Discloser and considered issues and documents brought to his attention by the Discloser at that time.
The Report, with necessary, but limited redactions to protect personal and commercially sensitive information, legal privilege and other relevant matters, is available here.
A team within the Department of Health was established to assess the facts in respect of the specific allegations made regarding Special Educational Needs (SENS) litigation and which formed part of the subsequent allegations aired on the Primetime Investigates Programme on 25th March 2021. Their findings are published here.
The Data Protection Commission is continuing its review of data collection practices regarding these cases and the Department looks forward to the findings of this review and where necessary will make improvements based on their recommendations.
The Department of Health is committed to continuing engagement with service providers to improve supports for service users. The Department of Health acknowledges with regret the distress that headlines from the RTÉ Investigates programme of 25 March have generated. The Department’s primary concern in all instances is the health and welfare of service users.
ENDS//