Journalist dismissal case is delayed
The decision was made by the Employment Appeals Tribunal after a five-hour legal discussion yesterday.
Speaking at the preliminary hearing, tribunal chairperson Thomas Ryan said Ms O’Doherty’s legal representative, Cathy Maguire, had until May 26 to provide a written submission as to why the EAT should make a decision in advance of a High Court hearing related to the same matter.
INM legal representative Brian Kennedy SC will have until June 9 to issue a written response as to when a ruling should be made. Speaking at the hearing, Mr Kennedy said allowing the EAT case to go ahead would be unfair on his client.
He said if the EAT case ruled in Ms O’Doherty’s favour, it may prejudice an upcoming High Court defamation case by the journalist against Independent Newspapers Ltd and its group editor, Stephen Rae.
Mr Kennedy said a similar personal injuries assessment case taken by Ms O’Doherty against Independent Newspapers Ltd may also be prejudiced by any EAT ruling, leading to the four-week delay until a decision on the matter can be made.
Ms O’Doherty was given compulsory redundancy last year. The journalist alleges she was forced to take redundancy after going to the home of then Garda commissioner Martin Callinan to seek an interview over the alleged removal of penalty points from named individuals. It was claimed her actions led to a falling-out with Irish Independent managers, who apologised to Mr Callinan and described Ms O’Doherty as a “rogue reporter”.
However, INM has strongly disputed the claim, saying Ms O’Doherty was given compulsory redundancy due to financial circumstances within the media industry.
The group said this meant the newspaper decided to make some positions obsolete as they could be merged or out-sourced and this was the reason for Ms O’Doherty’s departure.
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