The High Court will give its ruling on Wednesday on an application by two dismissed credit union executives for an injunction restraining the filling of their positions.

Mr Alec Good, of Hillcourt, Donnybrook, Douglas, Cork, and Ms Patricia O'Neill, Presentation Road, Cork, who were dismissed last December from their respective positions as branch manager and deputy branch manager of Gurranebraher Credit Union in Cork, are seeking the injunction pending the outcome of legal proceedings taken by them against the credit union board and its chairman, Mr Con O'Leary.

The injunction application hearing concluded yesterday after four days and Mr Justice Smyth said he would give his decision on Wednesday.

Mr Justice Smyth said everybody involved wanted to get an early date for the full hearing of the case and he would try to ensure this.

The judge was told by lawyers for the plaintiffs that they were experiencing financial hardship since their dismissal without pay.

Mr John Trainor SC, for Mr Con O'Leary, said his client had no part in the dismissal of the plaintiffs and had taken no part in the report prepared by an investigator, barrister Ann O'Brien, following complaints by credit union staff. Mr O'Leary had also taken no part in any of the decisions concerning their dismissal.

Referring to board meetings that had taken place in December leading up to the letters of dismissal being issued, Mr Trainor said there was no evidence his client had taken any part in those events.

At the end of the day, it was open to the board to say they had lost trust in Mr Good and that he was not coming back.

Mr John MacMenamin SC, for the credit union board, asked how could the two plaintiffs be returned to employment with the credit union in circumstances where they had claimed eight or nine members of the staff had fabricated statements against them.

He said the plaintiffs had expressed shock at the allegations against them and had rejected the investigator's report into those complaints.

"This is not a grey area situation or a matter of administrative difficulties. What the board was presented with was a stark black and white situation where the plaintiffs did not accept any steps by the board to ameliorate the situation," counsel said.

Mr Mark Connaughton SC, for Ms O'Neill, said there was an onus on the board to give her reasonable time to make representations to it.

The board had not stated why the dismissal was appropriate and this begged the question as to what the mind-set was on the part of the board in seeing the matter through without asking Ms O'Neill for her representations.