Three prison service directors allege ageist discrimination in pay row

Three directors of the Irish Prison Service have accused it of ageist discrimination over being paid less than a fourth director at the State agency.

The Workplace Relations Commission was told on Wednesday that three of the service’s five most senior managers, operations director Don Culliton, corporate services head Donna Creaven, and acting HR chief Trevor Jordan had all lodged complaints under the Employment Equality Act 1998.

The three directors, who are second only to its director-general Caron McCaffrey in the organisation, say they ought to be paid the same as a fourth director, Fergal Black.

Only outline details on their complaints were revealed at a remote preliminary hearing of Mr Culliton’s case on Wednesday, and the directors’ pay rates have not yet been revealed in the course of proceedings.

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Mr Culliton, representing himself as a lay litigant, said he was ready to get on with the case and was objecting to an adjournment application brought by the State on the basis that one of the other complainants, Mr Jordan, was being put forward as a witness by Mr Culliton.

“I need to take instruction on the evidence Mr Jordan will give,” said the prison service’s barrister, Mary-Paula Guinness BL, who appeared instructed by the Chief State Solicitor’s office. “I’m completely ambushed,” she added.

Ms Guinness also sought that the press be excluded from the hearing.

That motion was not granted by adjudicating officer Breiffni O’Neill, who did, however, give a direction to the press which means the reason cited by Ms Guinness for seeking a private hearing cannot be reported until after he rules on the admissibility of certain evidence.

Mr O’Neill said, however, that he was minded to make a start on the case and hear oral evidence.

Ms Guinness said a joint in-person hearing of the three cases would be “more effective”.

“The respondent is on notice 10 months. I gave full particulars…. I have been full and frank in my disclosures. I complied with every requirement, every timeframe,” Mr Culliton said.

“The first time the respondent replied to my claim was yesterday evening – it is wholly unfair and inappropriate that they’d seek an adjournment,” he added.

Ms Guinness said she had her instructions and that it would be an “absolute waste of resources” to hear the three age discrimination cases by staff of the same grade separately.

She said all three complainants named their colleague, Mr Black, as a comparator and each alleged discrimination on the grounds of age.

Mr O’Neill granted the adjournment and closed the hearing.

The three directors are now expected to have their cases heard in person and at once on a single day later this year, yet to be fixed by the WRC, at Lansdowne House in Dublin.