Labour Court upholds dismissal of Maynooth University race discrimination appeal

The Labour Court dismissed Dr Mohamed Saad’s appeal over Maynooth University’s decision not to appoint him to a one-year physics lecturer post. In its determination dated 1 June 2023, the Court upheld the decision that his race discrimination complaint was not well founded. Saad said interview questions invited comparisons between Irish and Egyptian students. The university said he was appointable but another candidate was better suited, citing weaknesses in his teaching presentation. Saad had scored above the appointability threshold but ranked third among five candidates. The Court found Saad had not established facts that could support an inference of race discrimination. It noted that he raised the alleged questions about 19 months after the interview. He withdrew his religion discrimination complaint at the hearing.