Schools’ asbestos whistleblower does not deserve limbo

IT IS hard to understand how things in Ireland consistently end up in situations such as the one in which John Forde now finds himself.

This is a man who, in his decades-long employment by the State, was behind the development of the SafePass plan for standards in construction work practices and site safety. It seems a bizarre situation that he now should be left in limbo by the Cork Education and Training Board, formerly part of the

VEC, for which he works as a buildings surveyor.

It is disputed that his current status is due to his whistleblowing over the presence of deadly asbestos dust in the CETB-run St Aidan’s College in Cork.

The facts are insufficient to warrant judgment one way or the other, and such a decision is best left to the final decision of a court. Nonetheless, it still feels like an indictment that a man who chose to act in the best interests of pupils, their families, and the entire school community – a man who did not turn a blind eye like so many before him in this country– should now find himself in this position.

The reality is, the State organisations involved privately accept Mr Forde’s claims that they left a potentially fatal contaminant lying loosely on ceiling panels for up to 15 years, risking exposure to thousands of students and staff.

Of course, we cannot even begin to investigate whether this is an isolated case, given the lack of urgency shown by Cork CETB, or VEC as it was.

It is also unclear what knowledge the Department of Education had or action took in the 15 years. Questions must also be asked about what the Health and Safety Authority did after they came in to clean up following Mr Forde’s revelations in 2016.

The whole situation is infuriating for right-minded citizens who reasonably would think that people whose job it is to rectify such issues should have fulfilled their duty to inform the thousands who passed through the school.

Common decency surely holds that parents and the school community would have been told of possible exposure to future conditions such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. Whatever about the rights and wrongs of Mr Forde’s dispute with his employers, the personal dignity and responsibility that he has taken on his shoulders – at great personal cost – is a testament to his understanding of what it means to be a public servant.

At this time, when he is particularly vulnerable, he is to be commended for his sense of right and wrong, just as those who should have been in charge of cleaning up this mess earlier should be criticised for their lack of common decency in providing all with vital information.