Courts / Waterford / Report
'Veiled threat' was linked to whistleblower's allegation of ministerial interference, WRC finds
Summary
The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that a "veiled threat" to veterinary inspector Louis Reardon was linked to his claims that Minister Simon Coveney and former Taoiseach Enda Kenny interfered with investigations by the Department of Agriculture. The tribunal, however, could not establish a link between the threat message, sent a day after Reardon's protected disclosure, and his involuntary transfer three years later. Reardon's complaint of penalisation under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 was rejected because the adjudicator could not be satisfied that the threat was part of a sustained retaliation. The tribunal noted that the transfer decision was made during a review that began before Reardon's disclosure and that senior officials had no knowledge of the disclosure at the time of the reassignment. The adjudicator concluded that the transfer was a legitimate reassignment, albeit questionable in its efficacy, and ruled Reardon's complaint "not well founded.".
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 'Veiled threat' was linked to whistleblower's allegation of ministerial interference, WRC finds. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- March 2022 Hearing Or Sentence
- February 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- 3 August 2017 Hearing Or Sentence
- June 2017 Other
- 2023-09-15 Publication
Why: The complainant said an investigation into a firm called Animal Farmacy Ltd was "snuffed out in its infancy" because of "political interference… from the then-Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Richard Bruton, Minister for Enterprise, and Simon Coveney, the Minister for Agriculture at the time". CNI source report
Places mentioned
- Waterford
- Waterford Courthouse
Topics
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