The Labour Court stayed the Department of Education and Science’s appeal over whether it was the proper respondent to Deborah Skelly’s gender discrimination claim. The Court dated its determination 19 May 2008, finding the appeal moot; its merits were not decided.
Skelly, a secondary teacher at St Pauls School in Greenhills, Dublin, sought paid study leave to study for the Bar. The school’s board was prepared to agree, but the Department refused and offered her a career break. The Equality Officer found the Department was the appropriate respondent but dismissed Skelly’s claim, finding she had not made out a case of gender discrimination. Skelly did not appeal that dismissal and was no longer seeking redress. The Department appealed only the finding that it was the proper respondent, saying it wanted to prevent the decision being relied on as a precedent.