Declan Cosgrave loses unfair dismissal claim over database breach

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Workplace Relations Commission rejected Declan Cosgrave’s unfair dismissal claim over alleged unauthorised access to the passport database in a decision reported on 6 March 2025.

Cosgrave was dismissed in September 2023 from his deputy head service officer role at the Department of Foreign Affairs passport offices on Mount Street, Dublin 2. The WRC heard his claim on 16 December 2024.

Adjudicator Kara Turner found that Cosgrave received fair procedures, that there were reasonable grounds for the serious misconduct finding, and that the Department acted reasonably. She concluded that dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses.

Cosgrave denied knowingly breaching the database’s secure access system. The Department’s case was that he accessed it using other workers’ login details; the Commission accepted there were reasonable grounds for the misconduct finding.