Inquiry into allegations against principal

An independent investigation is to be carried out into allegations of serious misconduct against a suspended school principal who is seeking a court order reinstating him.

Gearóid O’Brien, the first lay principal of the 1,250-student De La Salle Secondary School in Waterford City, yesterday asked the High Court to order his reinstatement pending the hearing of proceedings over his suspension last February.

However, the hearing was adjourned indefinitely after the school managers offered to carry out a new independent investigation into the allegations against him which include that he provided false enrolment figures so that he could get a certain amount of funding from the Department of Education.