Civil servant says he did all he could on promotion

The secretary-general of the Department of Health said yesterday he had given the blood policy division of the Department every possible support and had sought to extend all the tolerance he could to those working there, who were under a great deal of pressure in relation to the hepatitis C crisis.

Mr Jerry O'Dwyer told the High Court he regarded Ms Dolores Moran, an assistant principal officer (APO) in the Department who had worked with the BPD from 1994 to 1997, as an exceptional officer. He said he did all he could to secure her promotion to principal officer (PO), but added there were many other departmental officers who were also regarded as excellent and who were senior to Ms Moran.

Mr O'Dwyer agreed the Department of Health had sought, and secured in January 1997, approval from the Department of Finance for the allocation of a substantive PO position to the hepatitis C/general blood area.

He agreed that approval was not used for the BPD but was given to an official in another section of the Department. That section was described by Mr Hugh O'Neill SC, for Ms Moran, as the international section and "a million miles" from the hepatitis C/blood area.

Mr O'Dwyer denied this was an improper use of the Department's sanction. It was not unusual to seek sanction for a particular post and, having secured that, to deploy the post elsewhere.

He said a decision had also been made to continue the secondment of another PO to the Blood Transfusion Service Board. After exchanges, he accepted he was not suggesting that the post sanctioned by Finance was filled by the secondment of a PO to the BTSB.

Mr O'Dwyer was being cross-examined on the fourth day of judicial review proceedings taken by Ms Moran, of Temple Road, Dartry, Co Dublin, against the Ministers for Health and Finance in which she is seeking an order directing that she be appointed to a position of PO. She claims entitlement to that appointment on foot of an agreement between her and Mr O'Dwyer on December 23rd, 1996.

The respondents have denied the claims. Mr O'Dwyer has denied he had any agreement with Ms Moran to promote her to a substantive PO position.

In court yesterday Mr O'Dwyer said that when a PO vacancy arose, the APO who had held an acting-up (AU) allowance for the longest period was the person regarded as highest on the ladder.

He agreed that, at a meeting with Ms Moran on December 23rd, 1996, he had undertaken to arrange, and ultimately did arrange, for the payment of an allowance to Ms Moran. He denied that allowance was equivalent to an AU allowance, but agreed it was paid at the level of an APO who was performing PO duties.

He denied he had "hoodwinked" Ms Moran into thinking she was getting an AU allowance when she was not. One reason Ms Moran should have realised the payment she was receiving was not an AU allowance was when he had refused on March 21st, 1997, to sign a draft memorandum which referred to a departmental circular relating to AU allowances, he said.

He was concerned to come to an arrangement which would see Ms Moran continue in the BPD, as she had indicated she was not particularly interested in continuing there unless she was made a PO. He wanted to acknowledge the contribution she made there and had also said he would do all he could to accelerate her promotion to PO.

He had found himself unable to deliver her promotion, but his promise that he would do all he could to accelerate it was honoured. He said he had never undertaken to appoint her to an acting-up post.

Mr O'Dwyer accepted he had agreed on December 23rd, 1996, that he would pay Ms Moran an allowance with effect from January 1st, 1997. He agreed the allowance was not put in place in January and said that was because of the "extraordinary pressure" he was under at the time due to the hepatitis C tribunal and the nursing dispute which ultimately led to the establishment of the Nursing Commission.

He agreed he had again met Ms Moran on February 26th, 1997, when the matter was again discussed and that he had said he would ensure the allowance was put in place by March 5th. He accepted the allowance was not actually paid until May 1997 but said it was backdated to January 1st.

Mr O'Dwyer said the allowance he had undertaken to pay Ms Moran was strictly personal for her and was to continue for as long as she continued to perform specific duties in the BPD.

The hearing resumes before the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Morris, on Tuesday.