Labour Court to hear garda’s work safety case

DESPITE objections from the Department of Justice, the Labour Court has decided to go ahead and hear a case involving a garda at the centre of a health and safety dispute.

The garda claims he was penalised by his superiors after he had made a health and safety complaint.

Garda Philip V Kirwan was involved in the protection of public buildings in April 6, 2005, when he made a complaint to the force’s equality officer alleging infringements of health and safety laws.

He says that a subsistence allowance he had been receiving was discontinued.

He also claims that the amount of overtime available to him was reduced “considerably”.

He took his case to a Rights Commissioner claiming his treatment amounted to “penalisation” by Garda management within the meaning of the 2005 Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act.

The Department of Justice denied Garda Kirwan was subjected to any form of treatment that is capable of constituting penalisation.

It also argued that the alleged actions Garda Kirwan was complaining about occurred in April and May and the act only came into operation on September 1.

On that basis the Rights Commissioner held that she had no jurisdiction in the case. As a result, Garda Kirwan appealed to the court.

Garda Kirwan’s lawyers told the court some of the decisions he was complaining about were made before the law came into force and others afterwards.

He was only seeking redress for the loss of his subsistence and overtime in the period after it came into force.

The court decided that it would hear evidence on whether Garda Kirwan was subjected to unfavourable treatment after the act became law and, if so, whether the treatment was a result of his health and safety complaint.