Irish Red Cross vs Blogger

Raging_Ninja

yekahS wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0210/1224289432545.html



Its good to see that at least the courts recognise the injustice in some organisations. Hopefully this will set a precedent for Noel Wardick, if he's taking a case.

That guy shouldn't have done what he did though. He had absolutely no right to access the personal bank accounts of other people and it was a breach of all sorts of data protection laws, and this is acknowledged by the tribunal:

The dismissal was “a disproportionate response” and a more reasonable approach would have been to suspend him without pay for six months, the tribunal said.

Oscail

‎"7.5 Red Cross

Red Cross: Fine Gael supports the initiation of a detailed legal review of the basis, structures and
governance of the Red Cross in Ireland to improve its functioning in the light of changing circumstances."

Taken from Fine Gael election manifesto launched yesterday, 15th Feb, P32. Fine Gael will lead the next Irish Government and possibly in coalition with Labour, who also have a specific reference to the Irish Red Cross and its necessary reform. Having the two main opposition parties, and probable government partners, reference Irish Red Cross in their respective manifestos proves beyond doubt that the organisation is suffering from deeply rooted governance problems. Vindication for the senior manager who was fired for exposing all this on his blog and should really support his court case when it comes up. His blog is:

http://governancereformatirishredcross.blogspot.com

http://www.finegael.ie/upload/docs/Manifesto.pdf

Oscail

On 4th March 2011 Transparency International, the global organisation committed to fighting corruption and abuse of power, issued another public statement on the Irish Red Cross and its decision to fire the whistleblower Noel Wardick who on his blog,

http://governancereformatirishredcross.blogspot.com

exposed matters of serious public concern re financial mismanagement and governance.

Transparency International's latest statement on the Irish Red Cross can be seen on their website at:

http://www.transparency.ie/news_events/wardick.htm

running nowhere

As of this week the Irish Red Cross (IRC) has removed the "Discusison" forum on its facebook page. It has also removed or severely restricted the "comment" facility. All previous discussion topics and comments have been removed.
As has been extensively reported in the media and online blogs the Irish Red Cross operates under seriously deficient governance structures and a whole host of financial irregularities and consistent mistreatment of Staff, Volunteers and Members have been documented.
The discussion and comment forum on its facebook page had been providing Members and Volunteers (and Irish Taxpayers who fund the IRC) the opportunity to voice concerns on these issues (and of course raise issues of a positive nature). The IRC does not allow criticism of its executive committee, those who criticise, or simply question, are treated with contempt and every effort is made to sideline them. In the case of Noel Wardick, and others, the IRC fired Noel in an attempt to silence him, (one of many misguided and disgraceful actions) when he raised issues relating to financial irregularities. The facebook page offered an avenue of discussion without the fear of reprisals from the executive committee.
In true Irish Red Cross form the reaction has been swift and brutal. Censure free speech, do not allow criticism, hear what they only want to hear, and continue to appeal for money from the public.
The irony of the Irish Red Cross appealing for humanitarian access in Libya is, I hope, not lost on them. Here in Ireland they are taking direct action to restrict one of the key pillars of a humanitarian society ie free speech.
The Red Cross Movement is one of the most respected humanitarian organisations in the world, for good reason. The Irish Red Cross is part of this Movement and is duly respected for the great work is does.
There is unfortunately a small group with a stranglehold on the IRC who are determined to maintain a grip on what they see as "their organisation". It is not acceptable. They must be held accountable.

Della Digby

The Irish Red Cross has a fundamental problem. That is the "Executive Committee" which for years has contrived to gather around them an equally misaligned group of volunteers in almost every County. If anyone dares to question the actions of the faithful on the ground or the Hierarchy the doors are immediately closed and the wheels of rumor are firmly put in place.So most members find it easier to say nothing and quietly leave.

Those that feel that they are strong enough to take on the Elephant in the room, are simply ignored and sent to Coventry. The Executive will then should they feel it necessary dampen the ardor of any brave individual further by insuring that their solicitors will be brought into the affray and any individual who thinks they have a case will suddenly find themselves threatened with Court Action.

Mr Warick is right and so is Gerard Moyne and Mary Cullivan to name but a few, but the problem is that the membership on the ground are truly afraid of the courts and the truth. They only want to live in the little bubble that is the local Red Cross branch and don the uniform and pride themselves in the importance they think has been bestowed upon them. I have seen uniformed organisation take over communities before and like this Red Cross Society are more than willing manipulate the truth for their own ends, the difficulty is, "Where will it end". The good thing is that they are not allowed weapons !