WRC adjudicator’s complaints against State await decision after hearings conclude

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

Hearings have concluded on WRC adjudicator Séamus Clinton’s complaints against the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. The tribunal will issue its decision in due course. The State denies his claims.

Clinton alleges gender discrimination after he was not shortlisted for a regional manager competition, alongside victimisation and penalisation linked to acting as a staff representative or reporting alleged wrongdoing. A further complaint alleges he was penalised after pursuing his equality claim when mediation work was withdrawn. These remain allegations, not findings.

The hearing also examined the WRC’s withdrawal of Clinton’s access to a mediation database after statistics from it appeared in his legal papers. The responsible official said the step was taken to address a suspected data breach, denied it was penalisation, and said his access was restored the following month.