WRC rejects Irish Prison Service director’s discrimination complaint

The Workplace Relations Commission rejected Donna Creaven’s age and gender discrimination complaint against the Department Of Justice Irish Prison Service over a pay difference with a male comparator. The decision was dated 24 January 2024. Creaven, the service’s Director of ICT Governance and Corporate Services, said she was paid around €36,000 a year less than Fergal Black for work of equal value. The adjudicator found she had established a prima facie case because the respondent accepted her work was of equal value and she was paid less than the older comparator. The respondent rebutted that case by showing the pay difference was objectively justified by the historical circumstances behind Black’s salary, including efforts to recruit and retain a director for the Longford headquarters. The adjudicator concluded that the difference was attributable to factors other than age and found Creaven had not been discriminated against.