A whistleblower’s claims that contact tracing staff held office lockdown parties in breach of the Covid-19 guidelines have not been substantiated.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) said this weekend that an initial fact-finding review identified no breaches of social distancing or mask wearing guidelines and found “no issues of concern”.

However, it said it would “engage with staff” on the “issues raised” during the review.

The whistleblower had alleged that four gatherings which they termed “lockdown parties”, were held at contact tracing centres in Limerick and Cork at various times during the pandemic.

In a complaint seen by the Sunday Independent, the whistleblower accused “management” of “engaging in lockdown celebratory parties” which were “in breach of Covid guidelines and may be illegal”.

The alleged events included a gathering on February 26 last year, at the end of the third Covid-19 surge; a “leaving party” last November 19; a birthday party last December 8; and the final event last January 9.

The whistleblower alleged there were breaches of social distancing and mask wearing at some of these events.

The complaint was sent to the Department of Health, where it was deemed a protected disclosure, and forwarded to Paul Reid, the chief executive of the HSE, who ordered a review.

A statement said: “The HSE requested that HR undertake an initial review of the claims made in relation to a number of work events in our contact tracing service, in which it was suggested...

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