Air Corps Chemical Abuse Survivors
An information resource for serving & former members of the Irish Army Air Corps suffering illness due to unprotected toxic chemical exposure in the workplace.
Where was Minister Simon Coveney for the past four Wednesdays in a row when the Chemical Exposure Scandal at the Irish Air Corps was being discussed.
Has his absence anything to do with the fact that he actively ignored the whistle-blowers and then lied about attempts by whistle blowers to contact him.
Numerous retired & serving personnel have died since Simon Coveney ran away from this issue.
The military has been accused of a “cover-up” in relation to how it dealt with reports of exposure to dangerous substances within the Air Corps.
The Government has also been accused of “major inconsistencies” in its account of how ministers managed the whistle-blowers warnings of health and safety issues in the Air Corps.
It comes after the Irish Examiner revealed details of a damning health-and-safety report on working conditions at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel.
Speaking in the Dáil, Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh alleged that military authorities at Casement Aerodrome “did not take the required steps” when it was highlighted to them that dangerous chemicals existed.
Questioning the Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe on when he first became aware of the health and safety concerns, Mr Ó Snodaigh said that it appeared that “there is a cover-up here”.
“I have seen health and safety reports going back as far as 1995, all of which pointed specifically to the issues that were addressed in the Examiner newspaper and which a number of deputies in this house have been raising with you.
“So this is not a new issue, this is a cover up because the military authorities in Casement Aerodrome did not take the required steps when it was highlighted to them that dangerous chemicals existed they didn’t take those steps,” Mr Ó Snodaigh claimed.
Read more on the Irish Examiner website
MINISTER FOR SOCIAL Protection Leo Varadkar has called for the six questions asked by garda whistle-blower Maurice McCabe to be answered “in full, before any Tribunal is up and running”.
His statement comes amid reports that both Varadkar and Minister Simon Coveney have told fellow Fine Gael TDs to prepare for an early election, and they have called an early parliamentary meeting to discuss these election preparations.
Speaking in the Dáil this evening, Varadkar said that previous Tribunals have “taken many years and have not always led to the truth” so McCabe deserved answers to these questions now.
He added that it was “time to bring an end to a culture where wrong is done but no one is held to account”.
Read more on The Journal website
Government chief whip Regina Doherty passed an air corps whistle-blower’s requests for contact with Housing Minister Simon Coveney onto her Cabinet colleague last year, contrary to Mr Coveney’s claims he was unaware of any such appeal.
Significant inconsistencies have emerged in the Government’s account of how it managed the warnings it received relating to concerns for Air Corps technicians’ health.
The Irish Examiner has learned that, in January 2016, Ms Doherty forwarded a text message onto one of the whistle-blowers that she said came from then-Defence Minister Coveney. The message claimed Mr Coveney would call this whistle-blower the next day.
Read more on the Irish Examiner Website
