Courts / Kildare / Report
Manager claims he was penalised for raising 'price-fixing' concerns at plant hire
Summary
Declan Culliton, a plant hire manager at HSS Hire Ireland Ltd, claims he was forced to approve inflated machinery hire prices as part of a price‑fixing scheme and was demoted for raising concerns. He is filing a complaint under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. HSS denies any protected disclosure or collusion. The case involves three companies: Laois Hire Services Ltd, HSS Hire Ireland Ltd, and Briggs Equipment Ireland Ltd. Culliton alleges that Michael Killeen, former Laois Hire founder and then HSS director, instructed him to raise prices at a Costa Coffee meeting in Naas in July 2022. When Culliton questioned the instruction, he was told it came from Killeen. He claims the price increases proceeded, inflating cross‑hire costs. Culliton subsequently raised protected disclosures in management meetings and to HSS's UK HR director, after which he was isolated, threatened with demotion, and removed from a senior role.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Manager claims he was penalised for raising 'price-fixing' concerns at plant hire. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- July 2022 Other
- 2025-02-14 Publication
Why: It was impossible for anything Mr Culliton had raised to have provoked penalisation because the company's HR officer "did not inform Mr Killeen or anyone else in the Irish entity that the conversation had taken place". CNI source report
Case subjects
Applicant
Outcome: Adjudicator Catherine Byrne adjourned the hearing until a later date, giving three weeks for the respondent to make further legal submissions.
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