Casino Cinemas Limited t/a Killarney Cineplex Cinema was ordered to pay Marie Flanagan Talbot €750 after an Equality Officer found it discriminated against her on family-status grounds. The decision was dated 11 September 2008. The officer also ordered the cinema to end its ban on children under two and arrange staff training.
Talbot was refused admission to a children’s film with her seven-month-old child. She said the manager referred to breastfeeding when explaining the refusal. The cinema said its policy was based on health and safety and the comfort of other customers.
The officer found the breastfeeding reference was an example of customer complaints, not the reason for refusing entry, and rejected the gender discrimination complaint. The blanket ban on children under two effectively refused Talbot admission because she was with her child, and the cinema had not justified that treatment on family-status grounds.