Doubts over Irish state's co-operation with Omagh bomb probe
Liam Tunney, Belfast Telegraph, April 16th, 2025
BENN WELCOMES MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BUT UNIONISTS CRITICAL
Unionists have said an agreement between the Omagh Bombing Inquiry and Irish Government over co-operation falls well short of what is needed.
A memorandum of understanding has been published, which will allow inquiry chair Lord Turnbull to access material held in the Republic.
The 15-page document outlines the arrangements for sharing materials and includes plans to establish a central point of contact within Dublin's Department of Justice to handle requests for information.
It also details the process of disclosure of Irish state materials to the inquiry's core participants with a commitment to discuss further co-operation, which includes the possibility of witnesses being called from the Republic.
‘A significant step forward’ says Inquiry Secretary
Inquiry secretary Sam Hartley said: “This formal agreement... marks a significant step forward in allowing the inquiry access to material, information and assistance from the government and agencies in Ireland.”
Twenty-nine people and two unborn baby girls were killed when the Real IRA bomb went off in the town centre on August 15, 1998.
The inquiry commenced last year. A month-long series of commemorative hearings in January and February 2025 laid out the stories of the victims, their families, and those who survived the blast.
While the memorandum is not legally binding, it is understood Lord Turnbull will be vocal if he feels information that should be provided is not.
Any request refused by the Irish Government will require written reasons by the Justice Minister in Dublin.
Secretary of State Hilary Benn said: “I welcome the Irish Government's commitment to co-operate with the Omagh Bombing Inquiry through this memorandum of understanding.
“This is a very positive step that will help enable the independent inquiry to do its job and provide answers for families.”
‘Falls short of what is required’ says Robinson
However, DUP leader Gavin Robinson said it “may be presented as progress, but it falls well short of what is required and what the victims' families deserve”.
He added: “This arrangement is a contortion of state control masquerading as co-operation. It provides no statutory powers, no ability to compel witnesses and no guarantee of full disclosure.
“The painful truth remains: a terrorist atrocity that was planned and executed from the Republic of Ireland still lacks the scrutiny the courts demanded.
“I stand with the families in calling for a full and independent inquiry in the Republic of Ireland. Anything less is an abdication of responsibility and a disservice to the memory of those who were murdered on that tragic day in 1998.”
‘A hollow MoU’ says Beattie
Former UUP leader Doug Beattie MLA agreed, adding he had written to the Irish Justice Minister about “failures to address the legacy of our past”.
He said: “Not only has the Irish Justice Minister not replied to my letter, but now we have a hollow memorandum of understanding that goes nowhere close to meeting the Irish Government's responsibilities.
“It has nothing on witnesses, nothing allowing victims and their legal representatives to see unredacted material, and no legal duty to provide evidence. It's a staggering jumble of words and platitudes that centre around if, but or maybe.”
Victims' campaigner Kenny Donaldson of SEFF said he will consider the contents of the memorandum.
“An MoU falls short of what we have been signalling needed to happen; either the establishment of a parallel inquiry or empowering the current inquiry to have rights to sit in a Dublin-based court and to call upon whom it deems it needs to hear from, exercising full compellability rights,” he added.
“This MoU is littered with ifs, buts and maybes and there appears to be no certainty that there would be participation and full engagement from key people formerly employed by the Irish establishment, eg those who were handling agents within the RIRA and CIRA.”
Families need time to consider says victims solicitor
Solicitor John Fox, acting on behalf of some of the families, said the MoU was the first document indicating the Irish Government's willingness to fully co-operate.
“The families need time to consider what is a complex but very important agreement,” he said.
“The Irish Government has committed to fully co-operating, and this is the first document which has been made available to signify that commitment.
“In considering the document, the families will be very much focusing on ensuring that the providing of materials is done in a manner which is transparent, open to scrutiny and sufficiently independent.”
Fresh details emerge about one of Disappeared
Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, April 16th, 2025
FRESH details have emerged about a Co Armagh man believed to have been ‘disappeared’ by republicans in the 1970s.
The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) launched an investigation into the disappearance of Seamus Maguire in 2002.
In a statement at the time, it said the 26-year-old from Aghagallon, near Lurgan, went missing in 1973 or 1974.
Last week the ICLVR said “it has now been established” that he was “killed and secretly buried in the Aghagallon/ Derryclone area” in 1976, aged 29, after returning from a time spent in Manchester.
The commission said it is believed his “death was as a result of republican paramilitary activity”, although it is not clear what faction of the IRA, Official or Provisional, was responsible.
Fresh details of abduction
Fresh details disclosed about disappearance of Seamus Maguire
While no details have been released about the background of Mr Maguire’s disappearance, he is known to have been a regular in Downings Bar in Lurgan, which was close to the town’s RUC station.
The Irish News previously reported that Mr Maguire, who has been described as “harmless”, was taken from the bar by two men, believed to be members of the Provisional IRA, through a door leading to North Street in Lurgan in early September 1973.
It is said punches were thrown before Mr Maguire was placed in the back of a waiting car and taken away by members of a Provisional IRA unit from the area.
A source, although not present at the time but with knowledge of Mr Maguire’s abduction, says he was driven a short distance to a location close to the Kilwilkie estate where his abductors had arranged for him to be transferred to a second vehicle. After flashing their headlights at the second car, which was parked on the opposite side of the road, the local IRA unit pulled over.
It is claimed a passenger disembarked from the second car and made his way to the vehicle carrying Mr Maguire.
It is understood the occupants of the waiting car were not known to the Lurgan-based republicans who had earlier taken Mr Maguire from Downings Bar.
‘Like a lamb’
The passenger spoke only to tell Mr Maguire to go with him to the waiting vehicle where he climbed into the back seat “like a lamb”.
It is thought the second vehicle then left the area.
While not thought to be a member of any organisation, Mr Maguire was said to have engaged in ‘loose talk’ about IRA activities and had previously been warned about this.
It is also claimed that he regularly used the name of a senior north Armagh republican in conversations, claiming they were friends.
After his disappearance it was speculated locally that he had travelled to England for work.
Sources now say two people from Lurgan who had been living in England later falsely claimed to have seen Mr Maguire in that country when they returned to their home town.
The ICLVR is involved in the search for the remains of three other disappeared people Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh and Robert Nairac.
Mark Pickard, a former Met Police homicide detective who is running the Maguire investigation, said his primary aim is the recovery the missing man’s remains.
“I am not here to judge the actions of anybody, of anything that has ever gone on,” he said.
“That’s none of my business. “The real focus is, where is Seamus? I want to get Seamus back to his family.
“I will talk with anybody about and it comes with absolutely no judgment from me whatsoever, that’s not what my purpose is, it’s not that the purpose of the commission is.
“Our purpose is to find where these four people are.”
'Joe is the only uncle I have, he is my flesh and blood... I need to remain hopeful'
Belfast Telegraph, April 16th, 2025
NIECE OF DISAPPEARED VICTIM LYNSKEY TELLS ALLISON MORRIS WHY SHE WILL NEVER GIVE UP IN HER QUEST FOR ANSWERS
Against all odds, Maria Lynskey remains hopeful that the remains of her uncle Joe — one of the remaining four Disappeared — will be found.
This is despite senior republicans saying they have no more information on his whereabouts.
Joe Lynskey, a former Cistercian monk with a faith that he practiced throughout his life, went missing in 1972 at the age of 40.
It later emerged he had been abducted, killed and buried in secret by the IRA.
Having joined the monastery as a teenager, he remained there until his 20s.
After leaving and returning to Belfast, he joined the IRA.
It is thought he was originally a member of the Officials, but joined the Provisional movement after the organisation split at the start of the Troubles in 1969.
Intelligence Officer
While younger members of the PIRA were involved in 'active service' carrying out bombing and shootings, Lynskey's role was as an intelligence officer.
Maria Lynskey remembers her uncle as a quiet man, who she would visit as a child with her family in Mount Melleray Abbey, Co Waterford, where the Cistercian order was based for many years. The abbey only closed in January of this year.
Unlike some of the other Disappeared victims, Lynskey was never accused of being an informer.
His 'crime' was to fall in love with the wife of another IRA man and order the shooting of his romantic rival.
The man survived the attack, but it was initially blamed on the Official IRA, with tensions high between the two factions of republicanism following an acrimonious split.
Retaliation for the shooting left one man dead, and it would later be revealed it was Lynskey who ordered the attack.
“Joe joined the monastery when he was around 16 or 17, and I think he left mentally the same age,” said Maria.
“He had been engaged to a lovely girl who was, like himself, quiet and religious, but I don't know what happened to drive him to this woman and to do something so stupid.
“I often wonder was there more to it than that — did someone not want him around? To disappear someone in those circumstances seems extreme.”
Sources dead
Last week, the republican movement's contact with the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) said they did not think the remains of Lynskey would ever be found as everyone involved was now dead.
“I'm still here, as are senior figures from that time,” said Maria.
“There have been other cases where families were told there was no more information and then something was discovered. I have to keep hopeful, I'm a very positive person. Hope is all I have.
“After all, wasn't a king found in a car park?”
In 2012, the remains of the medieval English King Richard III were discovered by accident during an excavation at a council car park in Leicester.
While Mr Lynskey was one of the first people to be disappeared, his name was not in the list of people handed over to the ICLVR by the IRA in 1999.
Had they been upfront at the time, Maria thinks there would have been a better chance of finding her uncle's remains.
Boston College
Information about the disappearance was included in the Boston College taped confessions made by Brendan Hughes and Dolours Price, who said she drove Mr Lynskey across the border to Monaghan where he was handed over to a local unit of the IRA.
Days after this was first reported, a briefing was given to the journalist Brian Rowan on February 8, 2010, and featured in the following day's Belfast Telegraph stating that the IRA had “executed and buried” Joe Lynskey.
It added that there were efforts ongoing to “bring this to a conclusion”.
Mr Rowan was also handed the original list of nine people the IRA admitted to disappearing on March 29, 1999, who they said they would help to locate.
But the body of a 10th person — Captain Robert Nairac — who was abducted in south Armagh in 1977 was unlikely to be recovered, according to the republican movement.
False leads
In the years after Mr Lynskey's disappearance, there were attempts to convince the family that he had emigrated to America to start a new life.
On one occasion, a family member was told they had just missed him in New York, that he had given a speech for Noraid, the US fundraising outfit that operated during the Troubles.
On another occasion, someone claimed to have purchased furniture from him ahead of a move to California.
“You wanted to believe that he'd just gone off to start a new life for himself, but as the years went on that seemed less likely,” said Maria.
“I know my father never stopped asking about him, but there was a wall of silence.”
Last month, the ICLVR said remains recovered from a grave in Co Monaghan were not those of Mr Lynskey.
DNA test results do not match those of the family the grave belongs to, or any of the remaining Disappeared.
The grave is owned by the family of the former bishop Brendan Comiskey.
An Garda Síochána and the local coroner said attempts had begun to determine the identity of the remains.
Maria said that the news hit her hard as the family had already started planning a funeral.
Sympathy for other victims families
She also sympathised with another woman trying for decades to get answers about a loved one killed during the Troubles.
“Every time Mrs Brown (widow of murdered GAA chairperson Sean Brown) comes on the news, I've cried.
“I'd just love to go down to the court and give her a hug.
“And, I'm going to get emotional, but I have never, ever felt that I am a victim, but I feel like a victim now.
“Politicians can come out and support Mrs Brown because there's no information coming forward from the British Government to her family, and she deserves answers.
“But the same thing is happening to us and the other remaining families.
“When I look at how some of the other families have been affected by this, their entire life has been spent searching.”
The ICLVR has searched for 16 people officially listed as Disappeared.
The four still missing are Mr Lynskey, Mr Nairac, Columba McVeigh from Donaghmore, Co Tyrone, and Seamus Maguire (26), who was from near Lurgan.
When asked why she keeps going, Maria said: “If nobody stands up for you, you don't exist. Joe is the only uncle I have, he's my flesh and blood, and while I haven't much memory of him, I do have memories of him as a gentle and kind man. I can't just close my door and say nothing.”
Anyone with information on the Disappeared can call the confidential number 00353 1 602 8655, email Secretary@iclvr.ie or write to ICLVR PO Box 10827 Dublin 2
Victims Commissioner one of key Executive Office roles still vacant after 14 months
John Manley, Irish News, April 16th, 2025
KEY appointments that should have been made by the first and deputy first ministers on “day one” after Stormont’s restoration last year have still to be filled, fresh figures from the Executive Office reveal.
The roles that remain vacant some 14 months since the institutions were revived include a public appointments watchdog, the head of the Strategic Investment Board, and a commissioner for victims and survivors.
There has also been a delay in agreeing the process to recruit three separate commissioners to oversee language and culture, as well as one to monitor Stormont’s response to the climate crisis.
Recruitment of the commissioners for the Irish language and Ulster Scots began last month.
The data from the Executive Office, provided in response to a written assembly question, shows that as well as having no chair for the body that oversees the redevelopment of the Maze-Long Kesh site, there are six vacancies on its 10-person board.
Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson said the number of unfilled posts was “concerning”.
A raft of roles that should have been filled by First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly remain vacant
He said appointments to inaugural roles, such as the climate commissioner, should have been made on “day one” following Stormont’s restoration in February last year.
The East Antrim representative said the situation was “exacerbated” by the continued failure to appoint a commissioner for public appointments, a role that has been vacant since May 2021.
Mr Dickson said the absence of watchdog to monitor hundreds of appointments to quangos was a “significant gap in governance”.
‘Lack of urgency’ in making key appointments
“This again underlines the lack of urgency and delivery from the Executive Office, which ultimately leads to a lack of public confidence not only in those ministers but the executive as a whole,” he said.
“The first and deputy first ministers need to explain what steps they are taking to address these concerns.”
The Executive Office said it was responsible for a “significant and diverse range of public appointments”.
“Public appointments are complex and lengthy processes,” the assembly question response said.
“Extensive planning takes place far in advance of the end of appointment terms to mitigate against vacancies occurring, insofar as this is possible. Where positions are listed as currently vacant, active processes are in place.”
Year’s first cases of blue green algae confirmed in Lough Neagh
Jonathan McCambridge, Irish News, April 16th, 2025
BLUE-GREEN algae has returned to Lough Neagh with the first confirmed cases of 2025, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has confirmed.
Noxious blooms of the algae covered large parts of the freshwater lake during the previous two summers and also affected other waterways and beaches.
The NIEA said two reports had been made from locations on Lough Neagh and were verified on April 10 and 11 at Traad Point and Kinturk (Curran’s Quay).
This followed earlier algae reports at Martray Lough, Ballygawley and Ballysaggart Lough in Dungannon.
Environment Minister Andrew Muir previously said he expected the algae to return this year.
A Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) spokesman said: “Minister Muir is on record a number of times saying that there are no quick fixes, with problems decades in the making and decades in the fixing.
“It is therefore unfortunately no surprise that we are beginning to see algae blooms reappear again this year, particularly with the good weather.
“The severity and scale of the problem we will be facing this summer will be dependent on a number of factors.
“Work is well under way to tackle the problem through the Lough Neagh Action Plan and the minister is determined to turn the tide on water quality, but we know that this will be a long-term endeavour.”
Lough Neagh supplies 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water and sustains a major eel-fishing industry.
Nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural fertiliser running off fields and from wastewater treatment is a contributory factor in the blue-green algae blooms.
The spread of the invasive zebra mussel species is also understood to have played a role in the blooms, as they have made the water clearer, allowing more sunlight to penetrate, stimulating more algal photosynthesis.
Climate change is another factor as water temperatures rise.
‘No quick fixes’
Environment Minister Andrew Muir previously said he expected the algae to return this year. He has said there are “no quick fixes, with problems decades in the making and decades in the fixing”, a spokesman for his department said
Last year the Stormont executive launched an action plan to deal with the environmental crisis at the lough.
Mr Muir told his Stormont scrutiny committee last week that spring should be about renewal, “not news reports of blue-green algae”.
He added: “Significant work is already under way to tackle the nutrient overload in our rivers, lakes and loughs.
“I will continue to lead and seek support for the tough decisions needed over the time ahead to improve our waterways and tackle climate change.”
The DAERA spokesman added: “NIEA encourages members of the public to report a suspected bloom through the Bloomin’ Algae App or email emergency-pollution@daerani.gov.ukwith a photo, if possible, and details on the location of the potential bloom.
“All reports of blue-green algae can be viewed on the DAERA bluegreen web viewer Blue-Green Algae – Confirmed Locations.
“NIEA will continue to record events and review any significant increase in bloom numbers.”
Two Letters with very different approaches to fixing North’s problems
Cross-border rail ticket chaos is ensuring that commuters miss the connectivity express
The Irish News, Fountain Centre, College Street, Belfast BT1 6ET
letters@irishnews.com
Readers please note, letters should be no more than 400 words and will be edited as deemed necessary. They should be authenticated with a full name, address and a daytime telephone number. Pen names are not allowed.
THE recent controversy over Irish language signage at Grand Central Station is masking a wider issue which can be viewed as a difficult situation for the new Minister for Infrastructure, Liz Kimmins. While its minister decided to add Irish language signage to the new rail and bus station, Sinn Féin must defend a fundamental north-south connectivity issue within our transport network – the new ticketing system for our rail service.
Many of us who have used trains in Northern Ireland over recent weeks will have noticed that new machines and barriers have been erected in rail stations throughout the network by Translink to modernise its ticket system and reduce the inconvenience of waiting in a queue for the ticket office. A new system is a welcome step. However, it scans a code on your paper ticket which allows you through the barrier. In Great Britain, you insert your orange paper ticket through the barrier to get through, as you do also on Irish Rail (with a gold-coloured ticket).
Why was Translink’s new ticket system, especially tickets for the Enterprise, not designed similarly to that in the rest of the UK and Ireland? We now have the farcical situation where Northern Ireland passengers still can’t scan their tickets through the barrier at Dublin Connolly and Irish Rail ticket holders can’t scan tickets at Grand Central in Belfast.
“ The railway network in Ireland is a key piece of infrastructure which transcends the border and is built as one, whole-island unit
The railway network in Ireland is a key piece of infrastructure which transcends the border and is built as one, whole-island unit. It is potentially one of the only infrastructure issues which should unite all parties in Northern Ireland behind further north-south collaboration. There should be greater co-operation between both governments on furthering the potential of rail connectivity across the island.
Why is there not the option of an express Enterprise service between Belfast and Cork via Dublin? There was a Belfast-Dublin-Cork Enterprise running up until 1953 – 32 years after partition.
Before we even consider this option as a faster alternative to driving to Cork, we must consider the pressing question at hand – why did the Northern Ireland Executive and Department for Infrastructure not consider harmonising the ticket system for rail across the network here? Of course, there are a series of logistical issues that need to be addressed first (which rail company gets the most of the fare etc). The fact that a passenger at Grand Central going to Kilkenny, Galway or Cork can’t just buy or collect their ticket in Northern Ireland is a big issue blocking more extensive north-south rail services.
EDWARD FERRIN Belfast BT15
Nationalist-controlled councils should stop marches and bonfires
UNIONISM has created a row over a Sinn Féin minister deciding that Irish language signage should be applied to the new Grand Central Station.
The UUP has argued that the language has been weaponised but both Mike Nesbitt and Emma Little-Pengelly cited the cost of around £145,000 in objecting to signage, with Nesbitt suggesting such money could be put towards vital services in this challenging economic environment.
Did anyone demur or disagree with Gordon Lyons spending more than £800,000 on a scheme which included money for loyalist bands, or argue that this was weaponising unionist culture. Or grumble at the amount of money that is spent by public services in protecting homes and property when bonfire night comes up, or on the amount of money spent cleaning up after Orange parades.
Unionism feels that its culture should be protected but has done everything possible to undermine the expression of Irish culture.
It is now time for republicanism/ nationalism to take a stand. Nationalist-controlled councils, like Derry and Strabane, should prohibit Orange marches and demonstrations in town centres that are meant to be shared spaces but where everyone is expected to accept Orange culture. Councils should ensure that no Orange bonfires are erected on publicly-owned land, whether that be council property or government departmental property.
It is time to show unionism/loyalism that cultural oppression is a two-edged sword. It is ridiculous that a minority community is exercising cultural dominance over the majority population.
SEÁN O’FIACH Belfast BT11
Revealed: The scale of grievances and whistleblowing in Stormont
Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, April 16th, 2025
In the past five years, more than 1,800 formal grievances have been filed against Stormont departments and their arm's-length bodies.
Figures also show that, in addition, almost 1,300 whistleblowing complaints have also been made over the same period.
Stormont departments have policies in place allowing employees to lodge formal grievances.
The departments also have whistleblowing policies, now known as 'raising a concern' procedures. These can be filed by members of the public and departmental employees.
Grievances can be filed by members of staff over workplace issues. Whistleblowing complaints can be filed about the workings of a department, suspected malfeasance or other issues.
Looking at grievances, a total of 1,862 have been filed against the departments and their arms-length bodies (ALBs) in the past five years.
The Department of Health and its ALBs had the most grievances filed at 813, followed by the Department for Infrastructure at 224 and the Department of Justice at 211.
In terms of whistleblowing complaints, 1,298 were filed against the departments and their ALBs in the past five years.
Depts of Health, Economy and Agriculture topped complaints league
Again, the DoH and its ALBs topped the table with 546 complaints, with the Department for the Economy and the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) both coming next with 193 complaints each.
All departments responded to requests for their figures on grievances and whistleblowing. Only one, the Executive Office, did not provide data.
A spokesperson for the Department of Finance, which handles civil service personnel issues, said the organisation “aims to promote good employee relations and deliver fair and equal treatment of all employees”.
“The civil service grievance policy provides a framework for employees who wish to raise a work-related grievance to ensure prompt and effective action is taken to resolve the grievance, as far as is reasonably practicable.
“All departments have a designated officer responsible for overseeing the handling of concerns and are committed to the highest possible standards in delivery of their functions and services.”
A DfI spokesperson said: “The Department for Infrastructure welcome colleagues and members of the public raising any concerns they have and when these arise it is important the department responds appropriately, correcting errors and learning lessons where applicable.” A Department of Justice spokesperson said it is committed to the highest possible standards of openness and accountability in the delivery of its services.
“The department's 'Raising a Concern' policy provides a mechanism for someone to notify the Department about something going wrong; that might include, for example, maladministration, health and safety risks, an unlawful act (e.g. theft), unauthorised use of public funds etc.”
A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affair said it is “committed to ensuring that concerns raised through the Department's Raising a Concern procedures are appropriately considered and properly investigated”
Complaints by staff and public welcomed
They added: “Where staff or members of the public have any concerns about how we deliver our responsibilities, we would encourage them to raise them with us. There is information on how to do so on our website Raising a Concern Guidance | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. Our arm's length bodies also operate their own Raising a Concern procedures and there is more information on these on the relevant body's website.
“The Northern Ireland Civil Service Grievance Policy provides a framework for handling work-related grievances raised by staff and we work closely with the Department of Finance in ensuring that such cases are addressed within that policy framework.” A spokesperson for the Department for the Economy said it is “fully committed to ensuring that any concerns regarding the Department and its ALBs are raised as soon as possible and welcomes concerns from staff, its ALBs and members of the public”
“Our policies and procedures regarding raising concerns are available on our intranet and internet and we provide a 24-hour confidential telephone number with a messaging service. We have a dedicated professional team which thoroughly investigates all departmental concerns raised and advises, assists, and monitors the department's ALBs regarding any concerns brought to them.”
DUP deputy leader Michelle McIlveen said: “The volume of whistleblowing complaints and grievances recorded across Stormont departments and their arms-length bodies is deeply concerning.
“These figures highlight the urgent need for a thorough examination of internal cultures, management practices, and the effectiveness of existing mechanisms for raising and addressing concerns.
“Whistleblowers and staff who raise grievances must be treated with respect and protected from any form of retaliation.
‘Transparency and accountability are non-negotiable’
“Transparency and accountability are non-negotiable in public service, and I will continue to press for improvements to ensure confidence in our institutions and proper protections for all employees.”
Stormont whistleblowing has made headlines in recent years due to several high-profile cases. One of these relates to the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal, which saw people paid for using renewable heat systems with the payments made higher than the cost of the wood pellets these systems used.
This resulted in a massive overspend as people would “burn to earn”.
A whistleblower raised concerns with Stormont officials over the flawed sche cheme less than a year after it opened, later telling an inquiry she felt her concerns weren't properly investigated. There has also been the case of Dr Tamara Bronckaers, a Daera vet who raised concerns about animal welfare and meat traceability. An industrial tribunal in 2021 found Dr Bronckaers was constructively dismissed from her job after blowing the whistle and she was awarded £1.25m.
More recently, a whistleblower from Stormont's Department for Communities - where 133 whistleblowing complaints and 210 grievances have been filed against the department and its arms-length bodies in recent years - raised the alarm over benefits cheats.
Back in February, the Belfast Telegraph heard from a member of staff who works in the Jobs and Benefits office, claiming there is “mass abuse of the benefits system across Northern Ireland”. The whistleblower said that he believes that up to a quarter of Universal Credit claims in Northern Ireland involve fraud.
A DfC spokesperson said: “The raising of a concern is welcomed by the department as an opportunity to learn, put things right, and improve.
“The NI Civil Service has comprehensive policies and procedures for handling employee grievances, ensuring that all employees have access to fair and transparent processes for raising and resolving issues.”
