There is a disconnect between Irish Coast Guard volunteers and senior management and this is leading to bullying claims and other grievances not being addressed, TDs alleged at an Oireachtas Committee.
TDs on the Transport Committee told representatives from the Irish Coast Guard that they had been approached by volunteers across the country, who expressed concerns about bullying and how to report grievances.
Senators and TDs also expressed concern about the Doolin coast guard unit, which was stood down earlier this month after six volunteers resigned.
It is understood this was due to interpersonal issues within the unit, as well as grievances with central management.
In 2016, the Co Clare unit was struck by tragedy after one of their volunteers, Caitríona Lucas, died during a missing persons search.
Kieran Mulvey, former director general of the Workplace Relations Commission, has been appointed as a mediator for the unit, to try and resolve the issues.
Cathal Crowe, TD for Clare, said he was hopeful that Doolin’s internal HR issues will be solved by the mediation process.
However, he said there needed to be an independent inquiry into volunteer units’ relationship with the coast guard HQ overall as there were signs of “organisational rot”.
‘Disciplinary action’
Mr Crowe said that he had been contacted by the new Irish Coast Guard Volunteers’ Representative Association, which was set up by current and former volunteers.
“This organisation was set up because . . . Irish Coast Guard members are afraid to raise issues in coast guard units, or with management, for fear of retribution by way of disciplinary action . . . I am hearing there are not just problems in Doolin, but in many stations.”
Many TDs attending the committee said volunteers in their constituency had raised similar concerns, and they asked the Department of Transport and coast guard HQ to engage with this group.
They also urged the Doolin unit be put back into operation with its remaining 12 volunteers.
Eugene Clonan, acting director of the Irish Coast Guard, said that volunteers were the backbone of the operation and they were “highly trained and highly valued”.
When asked directly why the Doolin unit was stood down, he said there was a sense that HQ “didn’t do anything”, but they had engaged with the unit and had appointed a HR company to assist them.
‘Not safe’
“The Doolin unit has been having problems for a number of years. There’s six who have resigned, there’s 12 left. The interaction between the team, I feel and from what my people are telling me, is not safe,” he claimed.
“They’re not safe to go out, the 12 that we are talking about, because of the issues that have arisen as a result of the internal conflict that is there.”
He said the move was for the volunteers’ own protection. “We have had the loss of Caitríona Lucas and I don’t want to see that ever again.”
When asked about reinstating some services provided by the Doolin unit such as ambulance assistance, or allowing them to do training, Mr Clonan said once the mediation process was completed this might be possible.
He said he didn’t believe other units were in danger of closing down.
Mr Clonan added that volunteers already had a representative body called the Coastal Unit Advisory Group (CUAG). It consists of nine members who are voted in by volunteers, and they are involved in decisions about management, equipment, training and safety.
Mr Clonan said a review of the CUAG occurred in 2018 at volunteers’ request. He said this group can represent volunteers who have grievances, but he admitted that this was rare.
There is also an internal complaints and grievance procedure, but Coast Guard volunteers cannot go to the Labour Court to appeal the outcome of these proceedings as they are not paid employees, according to Mr Clonan. He said this was an issue he recognised.
A business case to recruit 12 full-time staff to improve the coast guard’s safety, policies and procedures has been approved, according to Mr Clonan.