Northern Ireland

Mid and East Antrim council undertake recruitment process for interim chief executive

Mid and East Antrim Council have undertaken the recruitment process for an interim chief executive following the suspension of Anne Donaghy
Mid and East Antrim Council have undertaken the recruitment process for an interim chief executive following the suspension of Anne Donaghy Mid and East Antrim Council have undertaken the recruitment process for an interim chief executive following the suspension of Anne Donaghy

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has begun the recruitment process for a new interim chief executive.

The council is understood to have sought applications for the role with interviews expected to take place in the coming weeks.

The senior role is being filled after Anne Donaghy, Chief Executive of Mid and East Antrim Council, was suspended.

She was placed on precautionary leave by the council during an independent investigation into allegations of bullying and harassment.

In September, she was signed off from her work on sick leave.

Last month, she travelled to Windsor Castle to receive an OBE for services to local government and the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following her suspension, it emerged that she planned to take legal action against Mid and East Antrim Borough Council for alleged "discrimination on grounds of her sex, religious and political beliefs".

A NIPSA survey of the council found that 61 per cent of respondents had experienced bullying.

The suspension of Ms Donaghy, which was circulated to councillors in a password-protected confidential email, was the latest incident to rock the council, and came in the wake of a police raid on its Ballymena headquarters in October and a BBC Spotlight investigation.

The search was part of investigation into suspected offences of misconduct in public office and under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The council has been under increasing scrutiny following a controversial decision in February to remove its staff from Larne Harbour over fears of a loyalist paramilitary threat against workers carrying out post-Brexit checks on animal and food products from Great Britain.

A PSNI assessment found no indication of any threat to staff.

In a statement to Belfast Live, a spokeswoman for Mid and East Antrim said the recruitment process is conducted confidentially by the Local Government Staffing Commission and it remains a confidential process until an appointment is made".