A 52-year old Civil Servant from near Enniskillen who was seconded from the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL) to a post with Waterways Ireland at its Enniskillen All-Ireland headquarters has been awarded an out of court settlement of £50,000 by an Industrial Tribunal in Belfast.
The award arose from an action Brian McTeggart took against his new employers after lifting the lid on alleged mismanagement practices in relation to the way senior posts were allocated, and alleged harassment.
Mr McTeggart is a former Director of Corporate Services with the North South Body who agreed to the settlement without an admission of liability.
The case was brought by the claimant in 2005 under the Public Interest Disclosure Order in Northern Ireland.
Two years earlier, Mr McTeggart had made a protected disclosure to DCAL and its southern counterpart, the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the parent departments of Waterways Ireland. This is a procedure under which an employee is entitled to protection, under 'public disclosure' interest, were he blows the whistle on an alleged malpractice (s).
'ILLEGAL'
In his case, he highlighted "illegal recruitment practices in relation to senior posts and critical issues affecting Waterways Ireland which have the potential to do major damage to the Body and the North South process" which, he said, were of greatest concern.
He also claimed there was a culture of patronage, bullying and secrecy and that he was himself bullied and harassed by the Chief Executive of the Body when he tried to have these serious wrongdoings addressed within the organisation.
In particular, Mr McTeggart alleged that there was malpractice in appointments, patronage and political influence from the Republic of Ireland in the appointment by the Chief Executive of the Director of Marketing and Communications to a promoted post in Enniskillen without any recruitment process, and the Head of Marketing in similar circumstances.
He disclosed particular concerns about the problems facing Waterways Ireland from "the failure of the Chief Executive to effectively lead and manage the organisation as required under the terms of the legislation and the Financial Memorandum".
Among many alleged failings, he cited a lack of commitment by the Chief Executive to Waterways Ireland, that this individual was undermining the Body and was planning for its failure in Northern Ireland. He highlighted in his disclosure that the Chief Executive was actively blocking the project to build its new headquarters in Enniskillen and had delayed the recruitment of staff for nearly a year.
Mr McTeggart also claimed there were major accountability, efficiency and value for money failings and an absence of corporate and business planning.
He highlighted failure to implement the major capital programmes and repeated underspends of up to ¤10 million, around 25% of the annual budgets, along with steps by the Chief Executive not to be held accountable for performance.
He further claimed the legal obligation to implement equality across the organisation and to have necessary personnel policies was not being adhered to, and that illegal and unethical instructions had been issued by the Chief Executive. He further alleged that the organisation was suffering from "deadlocked and shambolic decision making, crisis management and continual firefighting, abysmal communication at all levels" and falling staff morale.
BULLYING
During 2004, DCAL and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in the Republic, conducted a limited investigation into some of Mr McTeggart's disclosure.
Allegations of mismanagement were not investigated, and similar complaints by 22 other staff were not referred to the investigators.
The investigation upheld Mr McTeggart's core allegations relating to the senior appointments and bullying.
In particular, it concluded that the Chief Executive had failed in his duty of absolute propriety and complete transparency in the appointment of the Director of Marketing and the Head of Marketing, and that Mr McTeggart had been bullied by the Chief Executive. It also expressed concerns about the management approach in Waterways Ireland, in particular 'macho traits' running through the organisation and a 'command style' management approach.
In March 2005, Mr McTeggart was dismissed from his post of Director of Corporate Services by the Chief Executive of Waterways Ireland.
In his 'public interest' Tribunal case, Mr McTeggart claimed that he suffered detriment for having disclosed his concerns through being unfairly dismissed from his post in the Body, and ongoing victimisation after his disclosure.
The Tribunal case has been running for more than two years.
A separate High Court action against Waterways Ireland and DCAL is still running.
Commenting on the settlement, Mr McTeggart said: "This substantial settlement recognises that I made a valid 'public interest' disclosure about major malpractice, corruption and mismanagement in Waterways Ireland, and it confirms that I was justified in raising my concerns about major irregularities in senior appointments and other wrongdoings in the Body.
"It also establishes clearly that I suffered detriment for having acted in the public interest. I was badly treated and ultimately sacked as a direct result of my disclosure."
"The scale of this settlement sends a potent message to those who would attempt to silence people who expose irregularities, malpractice and failures in governance."
Concluding, he said he had dedicated five years of his life to establishing Waterways Ireland in his home town of Enniskillen before being dismissed, and he remained totally committed to an effective North South process.
