Five CAB staff lose €19,000 allowance claim in High Court

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

Five Criminal Asset Bureau staff had their claim for equal allowances dismissed by the High Court. The proceedings were reported on 31 May 2019. The unidentified forensic accountants and financial crime analysts sought the €19,000 annual payment made to certain other non-Garda bureau officers.

An allowance of €9,500 a year had been sanctioned for the five. The Minister and State said the staff had received an increased allowance of €9,500 a year in 2011, which they had never formally accepted.

The staff said their work included search operations, court documents, interviews and giving evidence. Mr Justice Senan Allen found no legal basis for the claim, holding that there was no general right to equal pay for equal work and that the High Court had no role in adjudicating pay claims.