ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00035684
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | Complainant | A Member of An Garda Síochána |
Representatives |
| Peter Leonard BL instructed by the Chief State Solicitor’s Office |
Complaint:
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 21 Equal Status Act 2000 | CA-00046771-001 | 21/10/2021 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 15/10/2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Kara Turner
Procedure:
In accordance with section 25 of the Equal Status Act 2000,following the referral of the case to me by the Director General, I inquired into the claim and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the case.
Peter Leonard BL, instructed by Emmet Hayes of the Chief State Solicitor’s Office, attended a hearing arranged for 15 October 2024, along with personnel from the respondent organisation. There was no attendance at the hearing by or on behalf of the complainant.
Written submissions on behalf of the respondent raised as a preliminary issue the appropriateness of naming an individual member of An Garda Síochána as respondent to the case in circumstances where the subject matter of the claim concerned the member’s attendance at an incident where the member was acting in their capacity, and in the course of their duties, as a serving member of An Garda Síochána. It appears from a written statement received from the complainant that this was not accepted by the complainant. As the complainant did not attend the hearing in pursuit of their claim, this issue was not ventilated. I consider the foregoing circumstances to constitute special circumstances warranting anonymisation of this decision.
Background:
The complainant referred to the Commission a claim of discrimination on grounds of disability and family status against a named member of An Garda Síochána. By way of written submissions on behalf of the respondent, the discrimination alleged was disputed and various preliminary issues were raised, including in relation to the named respondent to the case, time limits and the justiciability of the case under the Equal Status Act 2000 by reference to the function of the respondent organisation and the subject matter of the case. By email of 20 August 2024, the parties were notified of the hearing arrangements for 15 October 2024. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
By reference to the complaint form, the claim of discrimination was in and around the respondent’s attendance at an incident involving the complainant on 10 September 2020. There was no attendance by or on behalf of the complainant at the hearing, which was arranged as part of my investigation. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
Having regard to the documentation before me, the alleged discrimination was strongly disputed, and there were various preliminary objections regarding the validity of the claim and why it could not succeed. |
Findings and Conclusions:
I attended the hearing arranged for 15 October 2024 as part of my investigation of this case. Legal representatives and personnel on behalf of the respondent organisation were in attendance. The complainant did not attend the hearing. After allowing some time for any delay on the part of the complainant, I closed the hearing. I am satisfied that the complainant was properly notified of the hearing arrangements in accordance with the contact information provided. The complainant did not contact the Commission to indicate any difficulty on their part in attending the hearing, or to explain their non-attendance. Based on the complainant’s non-attendance at the hearing on 15 October 2024, I must conclude that the case is not well founded. |
Decision:
Section 25 of the Equal Status Acts 2000 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under section 27 of that Act.
For the reasons outlined above, I find that there was no prohibited conduct and that the claims of discrimination are not well founded. |
Dated: 24/10/2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Kara Turner
Key Words:
Equal Status Act – Non-attendance at hearing |