‘Gerry Ryan’ truck driver apologises to former bosses
Noel Cawley, 39, of Thomastown in Co Kilkenny has taken a case for unfair dismissal against transport company Target Express following his dismissal in January of 2010.
The company — which has depots across Ireland and Britain — fired him for illegally pulling his truck into the hard shoulder of the M7 motorway, doing a U-turn on a lesser road after missing his motorway exit and delaying his delivery by up to 24 minutes.
Mr Cawley won a €2,000 holiday on the radio show on Nov 19, 2009 after taking the call while on the motorway.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal, sitting in Kilkenny, heard yesterday that Mr Cawley was already on a final warning at work because of an incident the previous June involving a truck.
Under cross-examination from Mark Duggan BL, for the company, Noel Cawley said that in June of 2009, the front grille of his truck struck a compacter in the Dublin depot, which was not lit up or at eye level. The compacter was subsequently moved and lit, he said, and he felt the final warning he received was “totally unwarranted”.
Since being dismissed at a January 2010 disciplinary meeting, he secured work “stacking shelves” at Superquinn the following June, for 18 hours per week at minimum wage.
He wanted to be re-instated to his former job at Target Express, he said.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to Target Express for any issues and problems I’ve caused them over the years,” he said at the close of evidence. “I am sorry, I genuinely mean that. I enjoyed working for Target and I’m sorry it ended the way it did.”
Target Express’s barrister, Mark Duggan, told the tribunal yesterday that the call from the radio show was not the reason for his dismissal, nor was there any single reason.
The appeal concluded its hearings yesterday and a written ruling is expected in about six weeks or more.
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