High Court adjourns action of man who claims to be FÁS 'scapegoat'

A High Court action aimed at preventing FÁS from dismissing its director of health and safety Greg Craig, and from making any disparaging comments to the media about him, has been adjourned to later this week.

Mr Craig, of Greenlea Grove, Terenure, Dublin who claims he had been made a scapegoat by FÁS and was continually being offered up to the media, brought High Court proceedings arising out of claims he was to be dismissed following an internal investigation.

Mr Craig, a former director of corporate affairs at FÁS, claims the state agency is seeking to avoid a commitment made previously to apologise to him and to pay him compensation for damage caused to him.

Last week at the High Court, Mr Judge Paul Gilligan granted Mr Craig a temporary injunction restraining FÁS from taking any steps to further implement the purported dismissal and a further injunction restraining FÁS from making or communicating or publishing any adverse or disparaging statements concerning him.

Mr Craig had claimed that on a number of occasions certain matters regarding him had been leaked by FÁS to the media.

This afternoon at the High Court, Mr Justice Frank Clarke adjourned until Thursday an application to have the injunctions kept in place until the full hearing of Mr Craig's action is completed.

The application for an interlocutory injunction is expected to last for at least a full day.

Mr Justice Clarke put back the matter back in order to see whether a judge would be in a position to hear the application.

Counsel for FÁS Mr Marcus Dowling Bl said his client was opposing the application for an injunction and was anxious the matter be heard "as soon as possible."

Counsel added that FÁS further believed the High Court should not have granted Mr Craig the interim injunction on the grounds that not all facts were disclosed to the court.

In response Oisin Quinn SC for Mr Craig "strenuously rejected" FÁS's claim concerning the disclosure of facts to the court when the injunction was applied for.