The consultants' report on the Marino affair appears to have further raised the temperature at the teacher training college in Dublin. Prepared by Farrell Grant Sparks (FGS), it presents a robust defence of the authorities at the Christian Brothers-run Marino Institute of Education (MIE).
The college is cleared of all allegations of bullying and harassment; those who made the allegations are described as misguided. The report pins the blame firmly on a range of forces. The Department of Education is criticised for inappropriate intervention; the media for inaccurate reporting; and the INTO for giving misguided support to members who sought help.
The report traces the conflict at Marino to a power struggle between the overall management of MIE and staff at the teacher training college, Coláiste Mhuire. It points out that Coláiste Mhuire is not a separate legal entity but simply part of the wider MIE structure. Critics of MIE management - who see themselves as dedicated staff members at Coláiste Mhuire - are described as a "faction" which did not comply with proper MIE procedures. These are extraordinary findings which make light of very serious allegations of bullying by several staff members including former president of Coláiste Mhuire, Caoimhe Máirtín. She was paid €500,000 by the Christian Brothers last year as part of an out-of-court settlement in her High Court case.
Remarkably, the consultants' report does not explain why such a generous settlement was made. The report undermines its own case in one other important respect. For reasons which are not clarified, the consultants did not interview Ms Máirtín though she was ready to make herself available. This was a remarkable omission as it was the Máirtín affair which prompted the consultants report in the first instance.
The authorities at Marino had hoped that the publication of the report would draw a line in the sand. But it has had the opposite effect. Positions on both sides have become more entrenched. Two staff members, upset by the report's "whitewash", have resigned in the past week. The morale of others has been sapped.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin, who has handled the affair so adroitly, faces the challenge of restoring the college to some kind of equilibrium so that the undoubted quality of its teacher education is preserved. Her options are limited as MIE is a private organisation, although one in receipt of some State funds. But the case for some kind of facilitator to bring all sides together is compelling. The Minister should press for this kind of third-party intervention without delay.