Unfair dismissal hearing told porn images e-mailed to several institutions

PORNOGRAPHIC AND allegedly racist images circulated in Bank of Ireland were also sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Central Bank and other institutions, an Employment Appeals Tribunal has heard.

The images came to light as part of an unfair dismissal case taken by former Bank of Ireland sales manager James Reilly. He was dismissed from the bank’s Blanchardstown branch in 2009 after it was discovered he had forwarded explicit e-mails, in breach of the bank’s code of conduct.

Chairman of the tribunal James Flanagan highlighted one e-mail entitled “Adult Funnies”, which contained 12 pornographic and allegedly racist images. He said it appeared “the cat was well out of the bag” by the time the offensive e-mail reached Mr Reilly.

It was generated outside the bank, and someone in the bank sent it on to recipients including at the Central Bank, Department of Foreign Affairs, AIB, US bank State Street, Hibernian and Quinn Insurance, as well as a university. Mr Reilly appeared to have sent it on to only two recipients – his friend and his aunt.

Mr Flanagan asked witness Gerry Reeves, Bank of Ireland west Munster manager, who was responsible for handling an internal appeal after Mr Reilly’s dismissal, whether he had any idea the “Adult Funnies” had been sent to “all these other recipients” before they came to the claimant.

Mr Reeves said he had not; he had been given a sample of the images, but had not seen where they had originated.

“If I was aware others had forwarded e-mails in the chain, particularly externally, I would have asked the bank to investigate further,” he said. He reiterated he would still have upheld Mr Reilly’s dismissal. It was a matter of “individual responsibility”, he said.

The e-mails came to light after the IT department of another organisation complained about their size. Mr Reilly and two other employees in the Blanchardstown branch were dismissed and two were disciplined after an inquiry.

David Donnelly, manager at the Blanchardstown branch, told the tribunal he did not take part in the investigation. He confirmed one woman who had sent an e-mail was still employed at the branch.

Questioned by Johanna Ronan Mehigan, for Mr Reilly, about whether there was a particular “culture” in the bank, Mr Donnelly conceded that when he joined in 2006 there was a calendar of “naked ladies” in a cubicle in the gents’ toilets. He removed it after about six months, he said. The case was adjourned to next March.