The Labour Court dismissed Olive Flanagan’s appeal against the rejection of her age discrimination claim against Dublin City Council. Its determination, signed on 30 May 2005, affirmed the Equality Officer’s decision.
Flanagan, a staff officer with 42 years’ service, was unsuccessful in a competition for Senior Staff Officer and was placed 77th; the candidate ranked 75th was appointed. She said that a question asked at interview and a manager’s presence on the interview board affected her chances. The Court found she had not proved the facts needed to presume discrimination, and accepted that the competition was conducted fairly using objective criteria and trained interviewers.