THE chair of the independent review into Invest NI has said it is “extraordinary” that the two most senior figures within the organisation failed to act on a potentially serious whistleblowing case.
Sir Michael Lyons said two specific whistleblowing cases were brought to the attention of the the review panel through the course of its work last year.
The panel, which did not have the remit to explore individual complaints, said the cases were of such “significant concern” that they were escalated directly to the most senior civil servant at the Department for the Economy (DfE) to be investigated by its 'raising concerns' unit.
In its report published on Wednesday, the review panel revealed that one complainant had raised their concerns directly with both the chief executive and chair of Invest NI in November 2021.
“Worryingly, we understand, from information provided by the DfE Raising Concerns unit, that a formal investigation only commenced in September 2022 following our escalation of this issue to the department,” said the panel.
“Of particular concern to us in this instance is the fact that such a delay appears to have occurred when issues were escalated to the most senior levels in the organisation.”
Kevin Holland announced his decision to step down at Invest NI’s chief executive at the end of November 2021. He was succeeded a month later by Mel Chittock, who remains in post on an interim basis.
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