A former permanent secretary at the Department of Education (DE) alleged he was "bullied" by the education minister, according to a Sinn Féin assembly member (MLA).
Pat Sheehan, vice-chair of Stormont's education committee, made the claim during a committee hearing, stating, "Everyone knows the accusation was from the permanent secretary at the time, Mark Browne, who alleged that the minister had bullied him or pressurised him into trying to promote another official within the department."
In March, Education Minister Paul Givan clarified that allegations of "bullying" had been made against him by an unnamed civil servant. He added that a confidential Civil Service Human Resources (HR) review had been carried out into "the conduct and performance of a civil servant" but understood the review had "rejected" the assertions.
An investigation into the circumstances of Mark Browne's replacement as permanent secretary in November 2024 has been conducted, but its outcome has not been made public.
During Wednesday's committee meeting, MLAs questioned the Head of the Civil Service, Jayne Brady. Sheehan asked Brady when she "first became aware of allegations that the Education Minister had bullied the permanent secretary within the department?"
Brady stated that it was not appropriate to discuss personal or personnel issues in an open committee session. Sheehan pressed, asking, "Why the secrecy? It's an issue that goes to the heart of governance and transparency within the education department."
Brady responded that there were "protections for confidential processes," including in employment law. Sheehan countered that "confidentiality is fair enough when we're dealing with personnel issues," but argued, "This wasn't a personnel issue, this is about governance. This is about how a minister was treating the senior civil servant within his department."
Givan had previously told his officials not to attend the education committee, citing "unacceptable behaviour" by Sheehan. This directive has resulted in DE officials not providing evidence or written briefings to the committee. The committee chair, Alliance MLA Nick Mathison, has described the minister's action as "unprecedented and unacceptable."
Sheehan had previously denied "any suggestion that I bullied or harassed officials in any way." The committee meeting on Wednesday also saw Mathison state that the committee was considering using legal powers to compel DE witnesses to appear, citing Section 44 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.