Three members of the State-appointed Heritage Council have resigned after sharp differences with its chairman, Dr Tom O'Dwyer, and chief executive, Mr Michael Starrett.
The latest member to resign is Ms Clare O'Grady Walsh, former executive director of Greenpeace Ireland. Two others - Dr Pat Donlon, former director of the National Library, and Ms Bride Rosney, director of communications at RTÉ - resigned some time ago.
Ms O'Grady Walsh sent her letter of resignation to the Minister for Environment, Mr Cullen, on Thursday. Dr Donlon and Ms Rosney both resigned in June as members of the council, which has a role in formulating and advising on heritage policy.
Dr Donlon said "things started going downhill" not long after Dr O'Dwyer's appointment as chairman in July 2000. "He told us at the first meeting of the new council that he knew nothing about heritage," she recalled. Dr O'Dwyer is also chairman of Teagasc.
Others complained that the council had not taken a stand on such high-profile issues as Carrickmines Castle, and was losing any sense of independence. "They don't have anything to say about anything - just issue detailed reports that nobody reads," one source said.
Dr Donlon claimed the chairman had been "railroading the council ... at breakneck speed" through its agenda and said both he and the chief executive "treat ... certain council members with barely concealed disdain, thinly veiled dislike and a total lack of trust".
She complained that any attempt to raise contentious issues was "regarded as extremely negative". There was so much tension on the council that a facilitator, Prof Enda McDonagh, was appointed last November to "iron things out", but he "got absolutely nowhere", she said.
"I fervently believe that for any group of people to be effective there must be free and frank discussion where the views of all are considered and discussed, where each member of the group is accorded dignity and respect," Dr Donlon said.
"Unfortunately, this has not been the case on the Heritage Council where, in my opinion, matters are conducted in an autocratic and aggressive fashion and decisions are not reached in a democratic manner," she told Mr Cullen in her resignation letter.
"Again, in my opinion, this is due to the direction given by the chairman and, on occasions, the activities of the chief executive," Dr Donlon wrote. "I find that I can no longer in conscience support the way matters are being run and am therefore resigning in protest."
One of the more recent issues involved the resignation of Mr Starrett's secretary last January and the payment to her of a severance package without the council being informed. It is understood that the payment was approved by the Department of Arts and Heritage.
Another issue was the proposed new headquarters for the council, at the Bishop's Palace, in Kilkenny. When questions were raised about the appropriateness of converting and extending this protected structure, Mr Starrett maintained this was a matter for him.
Mr Starrett told The Irish Times that, as far as he was concerned, the business of the Heritage Council was "conducted well" and he was "not aware" of grounds for the complaints made. Asked about the appointment of a facilitator, he said this was "fairly standard practice".
Referring to complaints from Dr Donlon and Ms Rosney that he insists on approving all council letters and minutes of meetings, he said this "standard procedure" had been in place since he became chief executive in 1996. It was a question of "editorial quality control".
Asked about the wider criticism of the Heritage Council's role, he said it had not been silent on the Burren, on plans for Durrow Abbey in Co Offaly, and on numerous other issues, such as forestry policy and the need for legislative change to protect Ireland's heritage.
