An official statement about the outcome of an inquiry into alleged bullying and patronage in a cross-Border body was described yesterday as the "greatest whitewash and fiction to come out of any Government department".
Fine Gael community affairs spokesman Dinny McGinley de- manded publication of the full report into allegations at Waterways Ireland, the all-Ireland institution responsible for canal routes. But Minister for Community Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív rejected this, insisting "the allegations of harassment, which is another word for bullying, were not upheld".
Mr McGinley said the issue had implications "much wider than Republic or Northern politics. It has implications for the peace process" because Waterways Ireland was set up through the Belfast Agreement. "Lying at the core of this are bullying, appointments and promotions" and the report found that incidents investigated were "bullying and highly inappropriate behaviour on the part of a senior manager".
But, he said, the joint statement issued afterwards by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the North's Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure was "utterly misleading" and "buried the findings of the investigator".
Mr Ó Cuív said both departments had accepted the report's recommendations and conclusions.Mr McGinley said he had not seen the report but was told bullying allegations were upheld. "The only way we will solve this is to get our hands on the report." But Mr Ó Cuív said the departments did not plan to publish the report.
