Seán Kyne, a prominent Fine Gael senator and the leading candidate in the Galway West by-election, has been implicated in attempting to sway the hiring process at Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), according to revelations by the Irish Daily Mail.
Documents accessed by the Mail disclose that Mr. Kyne reached out to a high-ranking official within the Department of the Environment, making unverified claims against a job candidate, whom he described as having a ‘questionable background’ and a ‘troubled history’.
Previously, the Mail reported instances where Mr. Kyne, who formerly served as a junior minister overseeing IFI, leveraged parliamentary privilege to level accusations against the organization’s former CEO, Francis O’Donnell.
The obtained documents include exchanges between Denis Maher, head of Inland Fisheries, and Philip Nugent, assistant secretary for EU, International and Marine Affairs, both senior officials in the Department of the Environment. These exchanges discuss Mr. Kyne’s alleged meddling in the recruitment of an IFI inspector.
In an email dated August 2023, Mr. Nugent noted: ‘Senator Seán Kyne reached out to me on Tuesday, August 22.
‘He mentioned he had knowledge of a recruitment process for an inspector position in Galway. I informed him that this likely pertained to an IFI role and clarified that neither I nor the department was involved in any IFI hiring procedures.’
‘He suggested that a particular individual was considered locally to be “nailed on” for the job and that the individual had a chequered past and was of dubious character.
‘I reiterated that DECC [the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications] had no role in the process, that I had no knowledge of the position in question nor the individual to whom he referred (he did not name the person) and that it was a matter for the IFI.’
The Mail understands the individual was not subsequently appointed to the position. However, there is no suggestion of impropriety by the department.
The accusations by Mr Kyne came following the suspension of a former IFI director, Pat Gorman, for the misuse of an agency-owned tractor by his 13-year-old son. He was later dismissed, a decision subsequently ruled unfair by the WRC.
The Mail reported in 2023 that Mr Kyne also handed a dossier to then-Environment Minister Eamon Ryan on December 8, 2022, which Mr Ryan described as being ‘highly sensitive’, noting the process was ‘not normal’. Mr Ryan removed the three remaining members of the board of IFI and appointed two former county managers to perform its functions. Five members of the board had resigned prior to Mr Ryan’s decision as the organisation underwent a period of turmoil and internal disputes, some of which were triggered by protected disclosures made by internal whistleblowers.
Fine Gael senator Seán Kyne on the campaign trail on Inis Meáin ahead of the by-election
IFI has also been the subject of a series of investigations by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC)over the last 12 months.
A spokeswoman for the Department of the Environment said: ‘Staffing and human resource matters are operational matters for IFI. The department has no role in such matters nor are we involved in, or routinely informed of, specific vacancies or recruitment processes within IFI. The correspondence you refer to reflects this position.’
Mr Kyne did not respond to multiple requests for comment or to substantiate his allegations that the applicant was of ‘dubious character’. The Mail could not find any evidence to support the allegations made by Mr Kyne.
Asked if it was appropriate for a senator to interfere in a recruitment process of an independent organisation via its department, Mr Kyne simply referred back to a previous WRC judgement.
He did not elaborate on the supposed link between the WRC case and his contacting civil servants at the department regarding the applicant for the inspector role.
The case referred to by Mr Kyne related to a finding by the WRC in late 2023. The then chief executive of IFI, Mr O’Donnell, was criticised by the WRC for attempting to ‘surreptitiously’ influence a disciplinary process that led to the unfair sacking of director Mr Gorman for having his 13-year-old son drive a government-owned tractor on a public road at night.
The tribunal ruled that IFI treated Mr Gorman unfairly from the moment he was suspended on foot of allegations in an anonymous letter – and that it went too far in later sacking him when suspension or demotion might have been more appropriate.
In September 2023, Mr Kyne raised the issue in the Seanad, citing concerns that educational requirements for the inspector role had been changed to suit a specific candidate.
He noted that IFI advertised a position for a seasonal fisheries assistant which required a Leaving Certificate Level 5 national framework qualification or recognised equivalent.
‘If we take the position of an inspector for Galway, however, there are no educational requirements whatsoever,’ he stated.
‘This follows on from a more senior position again where there was a requirement initially for a third-level qualification.
‘That post was pulled and re-advertised with just a requirement for a Leaving Certificate. Why are these things happening? Is it a case that the organisation has people in mind for these jobs?’
He branded IFI as a ‘fiefdom’ that ‘is being controlled by the chief executive officer’.
‘Everyone I speak to within Inland Fisheries Ireland in Galway and Mayo knows exactly who is going to get the position of inspector in Galway, who indeed has no Leaving Certificate or Junior Certificate or Intermediate Certificate,’ he said.
‘I have no particular problem with that. I think there is too much emphasis on educational attainment. How is it that a more junior position requires two honours in the Leaving Certificate but a more senior inspector position does not?
‘It is because the CEO knows exactly who is going to get the job. The CEO will pick his man. Those who write anonymous letters need to be looked after.’
In its decision, the WRC said Mr O’Donnell ‘left large gaps’ in IFI’s defence of Mr Gorman’s Unfair Dismissals Act complaint by not attending to give evidence to the tribunal in July 2023. There is an ongoing case in the WRC relating to Mr Gorman and IFI. Mr O’Donnell was also contacted for comment.
