WRC hears conflicting evidence over alleged remarks in adjudicator’s discrimination case

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

At a hearing in June, the Workplace Relations Commission heard evidence about a further complaint by adjudicator Séamus Clinton, who alleges gender discrimination and penalisation in connection with a promotion competition and the later withdrawal of mediation work. The State denies the claims and says it restricted his database access to protect service users after a suspected data breach.

The dispute also includes an allegation that WRC director general Audrey Cahill said Clinton and colleague Andrew Heavey would not get further interviews or jobs at the agency. Heavey testified that he was told of the remark by a departing official; in April, a Department of Enterprise human resources official told the tribunal that Cahill denied making it. Cahill herself was not due to testify, and the adjudicator said the human resources official’s account of her position was hearsay and could carry no weight.

The June hearing focused on internal mediation statistics included in Clinton’s legal filings. The WRC’s mediation director said the figures raised concern about a possible data breach involving sensitive information, but said they were 95% accurate. She said Clinton’s database access was revoked in December 2025 and restored in January 2026. The presiding adjudicator has concluded the hearings and will issue a decision in due course.