In 1996, the Labour Court recommended that University College Galway appoint a worker to a suitable permanent post at the earliest possible date. It found the College should have addressed its commitment to appoint her in 1986, when a similar post was filled, after a government recruitment embargo had prevented the 1981 appointment.
The worker had applied for a technician post in the Microbiology Department and later worked part-time in the College's Oceanography Department. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union sought appointment under the earlier commitment; the College disputed that it remained obliged to appoint her. The Court did not recommend creating a post surplus to requirements. The recommendation was signed on 29 February 1996.