Pamela McKeogh awarded €5,000 over guide dog discrimination

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

Pamela McKeogh was awarded €5,000 after the Workplace Relations Commission found Kilkenny House Hotel discriminated against her on disability grounds by refusing a booking with her guide dog; the decision was reported on 11 November 2022.

The booking was for a one-night stay on 19 November 2019. Her partner, Kevin Ryan, said the hotel told him it did not allow guide dogs and that the manager cancelled the booking, citing concern his own dogs would bark.

The hotel said it accepted guide dogs but that designated rooms were unavailable. Adjudicator Andrew Heavey rejected that account, accepted Ryan’s evidence about the manager, and found McKeogh had received less favourable treatment and the hotel had failed to accommodate her.