Damning silence from political class as whistleblower faces the sack

As the country teeters on the precipice of a snap election over the mistreatment of whistleblower Maurice McCabe, another man who spoke up about wrongs within the public service is facing the sack from the Defence Forces — without a whisper from the majority of the political class.

Tomorrow a whistleblower who spoke out about his concerns for the health of those using cancer-causing chemicals to service the State’s fleet of aircraft is facing potential discharge from the Air Corps.

His charge? “Generalised anxiety disorder and work-related industrial dispute resulting in chronic ineffectivity,” according to the report issued ahead of the Medical Board hearing.

In January 2016, this whistleblower wrote a protected disclosure in which the alleged he was victim to “defamatory allegations” by an official within the Air Corps which the whistle-blower believes “was in effect an attempt to rebuke and intimate me, for highlighting genuine safety concerns”.

Read full article on Irish Examiner website below…

http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/damning-silence-from-political-class-as-whistleblower-faces-the-sack-463583.html

Delay – Deny – Die

Dáil Éireann – Priority Question 36 – July 11th 2017

To the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence.

36. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if his department contacted the companies or persons that carried out the 1990s safety reports into aspects of the Air Corps’ safety procedures at Casement aerodrome, Baldonnel on behalf of the State agency Forbairt in order to ascertain if they might still have copies of the reports that his department claims to have lost.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh. [32262/17]

Dáil Éireann – Priority Question 29 – July 11th 2017

To the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence.

29. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his views on whether it is credible that all copies of the reports of inspections into health and safety at Casement Aerodrome in the 1990s sent by Forbairt to the Department of Defence in 1995, 1997 and 1998 have disappeared; his further views on the position of military authorities whose unconcern at their disappearance is matched by their inaction when informed the reports were missing; if he will initiate an independent probe into the disappearance of these reports which whistle-blowers claim in a protected disclosure were to be shredded on the orders of a named official; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh. [32215/17]

Dáil Éireann – Priority Question 28 – July 11th 2017

To the Taoiseach & Minister for Defence.

28. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence when he received the report reviewing claims made by Air Corps whistle-blowers; when it will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Lisa Chambers. [32775/17]

Irish Army Air Corps Toxic Chemical Exposure – Survivors List of Demands

The priorities of the Air Corps Chemical Abuse Survivors is firstly to prevent further unnecessary loss of life amongst survivors and secondly to improve the quality of life of survivors by reducing unnecessary suffering.

Both the Royal Australian Air Force & the Armed forces of the Netherlands have offered templates as to how to approach unfortunate workplace chemical exposure issues with competence, fairness, justice & urgency.

We urge that all responsible organisations in the state such as political parties, government departments and the Defence Forces to work together to commit the state to provide the following for survivors as an ex. gratia scheme with no admission of liability by the state.

Current & future legal cases should be allowed to take their natural course unhindered whilst all survivors are cared for equally by the state.