CEO obtains injunction preventing his dismissal

The chief Executive officer of IRS, an advertising company linked to radio news provider INN, has secured an injunction preventing his employers from dismissing him.

At the High Court today Mr John O'Connor, Ballycrane, Castlepark Road, Dalkey, Co Dublin was granted an interim injunction restraining his purported dismissal from his position of CEO of Independent Radio Sales Ireland Ltd.

Mr O'Connor is also the CEO of the related company Independent Network News, who provide a national news service to a number of local radio stations, which earlier this month announced it is to close. IRS, the court heard, sells advertising space on commercial radio stations to advertising agencies.

Mr Justice John MacMenamin, who granted the order on an ex parte basis (one side only), made the matter returnable to later this week.

Mr Oisin Quinn SC for Mr O'Connor told the court that on October 7 last his client attended an IRS board meeting to discuss the demise of INN in which he was "harangued". Counsel claimed that Mr O'Connor was subject to an aggressive form of questioning and the meeting was "more like an interrogation".

Two days later, on October 9, counsel said that Mr O'Connor was called to another meeting in which a letter was read out. It was claimed in that letter that Mr O'Connor engaged in gross misconduct and he was informed that his employment was being terminated immediately.

Those claims included that he had obtained €165,000 as part of his bonus in March of this year without it being sanctioned. Counsel said that Mr O'Connor had been "up front" about this and had arranged for this payment to be made with IRS's financial controller.

Counsel said that Mr O'Connor has not been afforded any proper hearing in relation to allegations made against him, all of which are denied. Counsel added that the complaints against Mr O'Connor have not been properly set out.