Controversial: An election poster in support of Verona Murphy on the N11 in Wexford. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Fine Gael’s leadership didn’t know its besieged candidate Verona Murphy was also at the centre of bullying allegations made by a female worker.

The party is embroiled in controversy over its by-election candidate linking migrants with terror group Isil.

Despite concerns within the party about Ms Murphy’s views, Tánaiste Simon Coveney gave a significant show of support yesterday by campaigning with her in Wexford.

Ms Murphy is the president of the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA).

Last year, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) found an office manager at the IRHA was penalised for raising concerns of alleged bullying by Ms Murphy and others.

The female worker, who is in her 60s, raised a bullying and harassment complaint against the president and claimed Ms Murphy “took umbrage against her for raising such concerns”.Ms Murphy denied the allegations.

Fine Gael sources said the party knew nothing about the matter until now.

The then 62-year-old woman said she had been penalised, including a "failure of the president to withdraw unsubstantiated, serious, and untrue defamatory statements made against the complainant both when giving evidence to an external party appointed to review the complainant's grievance, and also in statements to members of the association's council".

Ms Murphy denied the allegations. In its submission to the WRC, the IRHA "denied that the president had made unsubstantiated, serious, untrue and defamatory statements" against the office manager.

The IRHA said the staff member was relying upon statements of others with regard to what Ms Murphy was alleged to have said. As such, it was the others who had caused the distress.

The office manager said when she first raised a bullying complaint in late 2016 against the president of the IRHA, Ms Murphy described it as "a lengthy and costly diatribe" against her.

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The WRC adjudication officer acknowledged the IRHA's claim the office manger had not supported Ms Murphy's election as president and the appointment may have been upsetting for her. However, the evidence showed matters escalated after the bullying complaint.

"I therefore find that the complainant [the office manager] would not have suffered the detriments she experienced had she not raised her concerns of bullying against the association's president, and others," the ruling said.

Ms Murphy represented the IRHA herself in the WRC hearing in May 2018.

The WRC ordered the IRHA to pay €20,000 compensation for breaching safety, health and welfare at work legislation in its treatment of the worker.

"Having carefully considered all the evidence presented, I am satisfied that had the complainant not raised her bullying complaints about the association's president, she would not have experienced the sequence of events she did," the WRC adjudicated.

These events included detrimental effects to her terms and conditions; a threat not to pay her and then blame that decision on an accountant; a potential transfer of her duties; intimidation by not consulting with her on the plan to recruit new people; and the imposition of a disciplinary process before matters relating to her own complaints were afforded a fair appeal process.

The IRHA lodged an appeal against the decision to the Labour Court.

But it was not heard as related cases taken by the office manager were subsequently settled. The settlement encompassed the appeal of the WRC ruling.

Ms Murphy was contacted for comment. Fine Gael and the IRHA had no comment.

Although she remains a Fine Gael candidate, ministers distanced themselves from Ms Murphy's views on migrants.

Ms Murphy suggested children as young as three years old may have been manipulated by Isil.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, Ms Murphy's director of elections, said: "I want to categorically disassociate myself from comments made by Ms Verona Murphy, our own party candidate in Wexford. I believe it is incumbent on all of us to ensure unacceptable commentary is treated as such. In this regard I want to note certain apologies given by candidates involved."

Yet Taoiseach Leo Varadkar reiterated his backing for Ms Murphy, saying her apology and the withdrawal of remarks linking migrants to Isil is "good enough for me".

Speaking in Zagreb, Mr Varadkar said it was now up to the people of Wexford.

"I think she's apologised twice now for what she said and she's withdrawn her remarks in full. That's good enough for me. It's up to the people of Wexford next week to decide whether that's good enough for them," he said.

Mr Varadkar said he would canvass with Ms Murphy, as would ministers.

However, a senior minister told the Irish Independent they did not believe many would canvass with Ms Murphy in the campaign.

Mr Varadkar refused to commit to allowing her to run in the general election. He said it will be looked at after the by-elections.

"The power rests with the executive council at any time to add or delete candidates and that applies across the board in every constituency."

Irish Independent