A Tusla whistleblower has asked gardaí to investigate alleged criminal offences carried out after he submitted a protected disclosure related to the child and family agency.
Ciarán Kenneally resigned from his role at a Tusla aftercare service based at Liberty Street House in Cork city in January 2019, shortly after making a protected disclosure related to procurement and financial procedures at the centre.
He alleges Tusla engaged in “retaliation and unlawful conduct” after he submitted his protected disclosure.
Tusla did not wish to comment on the specific allegations made by Kenneally but said “due process must apply”.
Kenneally, via his solicitor Kevin Winters at KRW Law, lodged a complaint with Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly on October 5th.
This letter, seen by The Irish Times, made a number of allegations related to the actions of several Tusla employees.
It alleged that a number of criminal offences may have been committed, including “retaliation or penalisation for making a protected disclosure” under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, and “unlawful obtaining, processing, or misuse of personal data” under the Data Protection Act 2018.
“Following the disclosure, our client was subjected to severe workplace bullying, work-related stress, and ultimately the termination of his employment. He was left without income for a prolonged period and suffered significant deterioration in his health, as confirmed by medical evidence,” the letter said.
“Tusla management undertook unauthorised inquiries into our client’s previous employment history, including background checks and attempts to discredit his credibility. These actions were undertaken after our client had already successfully completed Garda vetting and reference checks as part of his recruitment.”
[ Tusla in breach of High Court special care direction again over capacity issuesOpens in new window ]
Winters wrote to Tusla in late September informing them about the complaint to the Garda Commissioner. The letter asked the agency to “enter into discussions to resolve this matter lawfully and transparently” and “compensate our client for the losses suffered”.
“We write in advance of issuing proceedings, in the hope that the matters set out below can be resolved without recourse to the courts,” the letter said.
Winters told The Irish Times that, if he does not receive a satisfactory response from Tusla within the next two to three weeks, a plenary summons will be issued.
Ken O’Flynn, an Independent Ireland TD for Cork North-Central, last week asked Minister for Children Norma Foley to examine the case as Tusla falls under the remit of her department. Kenneally has worked for O’Flynn since last year.
A spokesman said Tusla “cannot comment on individual cases”.
“We respect the right of an individual to engage legal representation and engage fully and appropriately in such processes,” a statement said.
“It must also be noted that in any circumstances where allegations are made about the agency or individuals within the agency, these must be considered, as such, and due process must apply, and caution should be exerted in the publication of any such information.”
The statement added that all protected disclosures received by Tusla were assessed under the agency’s protected disclosure policy.
An Garda Síochána said it was “precluded by law from commenting on any matter that may relate to a protected disclosure”.
The Irish Times has contacted the Department of Children for comment.
Kenneally settled an unfair dismissal case with Tusla at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in November 2019. Records released to Kenneally after the WRC case was settled confirmed Tusla had carried out a background check on him.
Earlier this year, the Data Protection Commission found Tusla failed to demonstrate a lawful basis under General Data Protection Regulation for its processing of Kenneally’s personal data.
Documents released in January showed an internal review, carried out in late 2018, raised several issues about financial management at the Liberty Street service. The facility supports service users, often young people experiencing homelessness, via cash and vouchers.
The review found there was an absence of guidelines for staff regarding financial management, inconsistent record-keeping and “a practice of withdrawing cash without regard to combined known requirements and contingency funds”. The review was released following a Freedom of Information request submitted by O’Flynn.
Kenneally submitted a second protected disclosure to Tusla last November, saying another former employee of the agency had contacted him with information that supported his initial disclosure.