The president's office at NUI Maynooth has denied that there was discrimination on religious grounds in the recent appointment of a professor of sociology/head of department there.
A statement issued to The Irish Times yesterday said "in an article . . . in the 20 June 2002 edition of The Irish Times, statements attributed to Prof Ronnie Munck suggested that he and another named candidate for the professorship post in sociology were discriminated against on religious grounds.
"We wish to state categorically that no such discrimination took place and we are satisfied that the selection procedures adopted by the university are fair in every respect. The university operates these procedures based on a policy of equality designed to ensure that all applicants for employment are recruited and selected on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities.
"The selection board for the sociology post included two distinguished external assessors. The board was unanimous in deciding the candidates deemed appointable and their ranking. Prof Munck in fact was deemed appointable, but was not the first ranked candidate.
"The university is pleased to appoint Dr Seán Ó Riain to this professorship post. His academic record and experience place him at the cutting edge of sociology, and we are confident that he is the ideal person to lead and develop the department in the years ahead."