Noel O’Connell, who was represented by FLAC, succeeded in a disability discrimination complaint against the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) under the Employment Equality Acts.

The NCSE is a statutory body which was established to improve the delivery of education services to people with special educational needs.

Mr O’Connell applied for an Irish Sign Language (ISL) advisor role with the NCSE in 2022.

The NCSE did not shortlist him for the role because he lacked a formal qualification in ISL, despite ISL being his first and native language.

A formal review by the Commission for Public Service Appointments later found that he met the requirements for the role. However, he was informed by the NCSE at that stage that the recruitment process had closed.

In a decision published today, the WRC adjudicator found that the NCSE’s actions “amount to indirect discrimination” against Mr O’Connell.

The maximum that can be awarded under the Employment Equality Acts in cases concerning access to employment is €13,000.

However, in what FLAC has described as a landmark move, the WRC adjudicator went beyond the maximum compensation limit in Irish legislation and awarded Mr O’Connell €40,000 in compensation on the basis that the relevant EU Equality Directive requires sanctions in such cases to be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive”.

FLAC is calling for draft legislation which would improve the level of compensation available to victims of discrimination in Ireland to be urgently advanced and enacted.

Sinéad Lucey, managing solicitor at FLAC, said: “FLAC very much welcomes today’s decision of the WRC which is an important reminder of the equality obligations on employers, including public bodies, towards applicants for employment and people with disabilities.

“People with disabilities experience multiple barriers to accessing employment. The employment participation rate of disabled people of working age in Ireland is only 49 per cent, compared to 71 per cent for the wider working population.

“For equality law to be effective, the remedies — including the amount of compensation — available to victims of discrimination must be adequate.

“In this case, FLAC argued that the evidence showed that our client had suffered losses ‘far in excess of the €13,000 limit’ on compensation provided for in Irish law for cases concerning access to employment.

“The WRC adjudicator accepted our argument that he should set aside the national legislation and apply EU law to ensure that our client receives an effective and proportionate remedy.

“The WRC decision confirms that the compensation limits in Irish anti-discrimination law are not consistent with EU law.

“This is one of the reasons why FLAC campaigned for a comprehensive review of the equality legislation and for the removal of the compensation caps altogether. The level of compensation provided for in Irish anti-discrimination law at present is so low that it does not act as a deterrent against discrimination or promote a culture of compliance with the law.

“The Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 which emerged from the review of the equality legislation would dramatically improve the levels of compensation available to victims of discrimination in Ireland. FLAC was pleased to support pre-legislative scrutiny of that legislation and we believe it should be expedited in light of today’s decision.

“I would like to commend our client Noel O’Connell for his persistence in pursuing this difficult case over a number of years.”

Mr O’Connell added: “I am very pleased with the outcome in my case against the NCSE.

“The decision recognises that my exclusion from the recruitment process was unlawful and discrimination against me as a deaf person. This unlawful conduct was carried out by a public service employer.

“I hope that this case will prompt all employers to reflect on their recruitment practices and policies and to ensure that they are compliant with the rights of people with disabilities.

“I would like to thank FLAC and the team who assisted me with the case.”