Don Culliton loses age discrimination appeal at Labour Court

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

Don Culliton lost his age discrimination appeal at the Labour Court, reported on 21 January 2025; the court rejected his claim over lower pay than a comparable colleague.

The dispute concerned a pay gap between Culliton, director of custody, security and operations at the Irish Prison Service, and Fergal Black, then director of care and rehabilitation. The Labour Court valued their remuneration packages at €131,644 and €164,691 respectively. The case stemmed from differing terms tied to the history of the care and rehabilitation director’s role.

The court rejected Culliton’s appeal, finding that Brian Purcell’s evidence justified the eligibility criterion used in the recruitment advertisement. It said there was no evidence Culliton knew of the 2007 advertisement or would have applied for the role.