IRISH COAST GUARD members have been informed that whistleblowing laws have been amended so that volunteers are now “explicitly included” under Protected Disclosure legislation.
It follows several years of disputes in the organisation, in part due to claims of increased “red tape” when responding to incidents and over how disciplinary proceedings against members have been handled.
Management sent units an email in recent days informing them of the change.
The move has been welcomed by the Irish Coast Guard Volunteers Representative Association – a breakaway outfit representing current and former members – although it cautioned that the implications of the policy change would need to be better understood on what it means in practice for members.
The Coast Guard, which responded to almost 2,700 incidents in 2022, is comprised of over 900 volunteer members nationwide who are overseen by paid staff under the governance of the Department of Transport.
In late 2021, several members of an experienced unit in Doolin, Co Clare were stood down permanently after relationships had “irretrievably broken down” within the unit, which was rocked in 2016 when their colleague Caitriona Lucas died tragically during a search in Kilkee.
The unit was later reconstituted allowing new and some other members to join.
In the letter, seen by The Journal, Coast Guard Units & Support Manager Niall Ferns said he wanted to make members aware of the new policy issued by the Department of Transport, which is available to view here.
He said an amendment to the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 had commenced this month addressing the protection of anyone who reports wrongdoing under the Act.
Ferns added that “of particular interest to us” was the amended wording to include
“An individual who is or was a volunteer”, which he said will protect members who wish to report allegations.
“Volunteers were not explicitly included in the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 however this has now been updated,” he said.
“It will aim to protect workers and volunteers in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors from retaliation if they speak up about wrongdoing.”
Ferns added that the Department of Transport and Irish Coast Guard are “committed to
upholding this legal requirement” in the document.
John O’Mahony from the Irish Coast Guard Volunteers Representative Association said it was an important step.
“That an individual member can now be protected in this way, that is a win for us.
“There is a lack of trust and respect that has grown over the years which needs to be built up among the volunteers. Members need to be brought along to do that.”
O’Mahony, a former deputy officer of the Toehead/Glandore unit in Co Cork, claimed that the morale of members had been impacted as they regularly found they had little recourse when issues arose within the Coast Guard.
“We are excluded from going to the Garda Ombudsman, the WRC and we’re not allowed to become members of a union. The Coast Guard has been an excluded body so members have had nowhere to go whatsoever.”
He added that concerns remain in several units around the country, saying that Coast Guard members have filed “dozens” of grievance complaints over recent months to the transport minister and their minister of state, rather than Coast Guard management.
An official representative body operated by the organisation called CUAG – the Coast Guard Representative Group – had its role extended last year in an attempt to address unhappiness among volunteers.
This followed a recommendation by mediator Kieran Mulvey who criticised management in his report on Doolin Coast Guard for providing “no individual feedback” from earlier one-to-one interview sessions between volunteers, mediators and Department officials.
This “created enormous frustration” among the volunteers, Mulvey said, who strongly recommended that to improve relationships CUAG should have its role extended.
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