TCD lecturer loses discrimination case

Europe’s top court has ruled that a retired Trinity College Dublin lecturer was not discriminated against on his pension rights because of his sexual orientation or age.

David Parris, a fellow emeritus in French, had challenged the university’s pension scheme rules which would prevent his same-sex partner of more than 30 years from accessing a survivor’s pension in the event of his death. He had taken the case against Trinity, the Higher Education Authority, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Department of Education.

The European Court of Justice was asked by the Labour Court in Ireland whether the rules, which makes entitlement to a survivor’s pension conditional on a member having married or entered into a civil partnership before the age of 60, were discriminatory, either directly or indirectly, under EU law.