Executive of dental body 'used offensive names'

The secretary general of the Irish Dental Association (IDA) called his colleagues "offensive names" in a meeting that "went into meltdown" and preceded his dismissal from the organisation, the Employment Appeals Tribunal has heard.

Donal Atkins was sacked last December after 26 years as secretary general of the IDA. The executive council of the IDA claims his dismissal was due to a number of instances of misconduct, including withholding information from the council and giving himself an unsanctioned pay rise of more than 16 per cent.

Dr Roger Grufferty, former honorary secretary of the association, said he and another IDA member, Bernard Murphy, called Mr Atkins to a meeting to discuss the pay rise and an issue that had emerged in relation to legal proceedings being taken against the IDA.

Mr Atkins's salary had increased from €119,400 to €139,000 even though only 5 per cent wage increases were sanctioned by the council. The IDA was also being sued for €28,000 by website irishhealth.com for the alleged plagiarism of articles; although the issue had been "live" since 2004, Dr Grufferty said he had never been made aware of it.

Dr Grufferty said he questioned Mr Atkins in relation to difficulties he was having in getting information about Mr Atkins's salary from the IDA's accountants, Cremin McCarthy, and it was at this point, he said, that the meeting went into "meltdown".

"Donal got very aggressive and walked from the room . . . he called us offensive names."

The situation was evolving, Dr Grufferty said, and more matters had come to light. A member of the executive council had resigned, but Mr Atkins had not informed the executive; there was no record of a letter Mr Atkins claimed to have written to the Tánaiste in relation to the appointment of a chief dental officer; and there were queries in relation to Mr Atkins's use of an IDA credit card and mobile phone.

Following an investigation by a disciplinary committee of the IDA, the executive put a motion to dismiss Mr Atkins to the 23-member IDA council. "We felt our trust and confidence had been betrayed and no other option was possible," Dr Grufferty said.

A meeting of 22 members of the council in September 2005 voted by a majority of 18 to dismiss Mr Atkins. The hearing continues today.