OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF EQUALITY INVESTIGATIONS
Equal Status Act 2000
EQUALITY OFFICER'S DECISION NO: DEC-S2002-103-104
Kathleen and Jerry O'Sullivan
V
Henry O'Connor, Proprietor, The Beer Garden Bar, Cork
File No. ES/2001/193 & 202
Date of Issue 18/09/2002
Headnotes:Equal Status Act, 2000 - Direct discrimination, section 3(1)(a) - Membership of the Traveller community, Section 3(2)(i) - Disposal of goods and supply of services, Section 5(1) - Refusal of service in a pub.
This dispute concerns claims by Kathleen and Jerry O'Sullivan that they were discriminated against by the respondent, contrary to the Equal Status Act, 2000, on the grounds that they are members of the Traveller community, when they were refused service in the respondent's premises on 2 December, 2000. The respondent denies that discrimination occurred and states that the only reason service was refused on 2 December 2000 was because the complainants had been involved in a potentially violent incident the previous week.