WRC to hear blind man’s discrimination claim against Re-Turn

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

Re-Turn Ireland’s bid to have Pat McCarthy’s discrimination complaint dismissed was rejected in a preliminary ruling at the Workplace Relations Commission. Adjudication officer Brian Dalton found that McCarthy had made out an arguable case that Deposit Return Scheme Ireland CLG, trading as Re-Turn, provides a service by setting how the scheme can be accessed. The complaint will be set down for a hearing on its substance.

McCarthy alleges that the scheme disadvantages him because he is blind and cannot read markings showing whether drink containers are included. Re-Turn denies the statutory complaint under the Equal Status Act 2000. The ruling addressed whether the WRC could hear the complaint; it did not decide the discrimination allegation.