+34
The Workplace Relations Commission rejected all employment rights claims by Seanán Ó Coistín, a former FSAI communications executive who sent a mass email calling the lack of Irish language capacity shameful.
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has rejected a series of employment rights claims brought by Seanán Ó Coistín, a former communications executive at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). The decisions, published on Thursday, relate to his complaints under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977, the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003, and the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. Ó Coistín had been placed on administrative leave after sending a mass email to colleagues in December 2024, in which he criticised the lack of Irish language ability within the organisation as shameful.
Background and the controversial email
Ó Coistín was employed via a staffing agency as a communications executive at the FSAI and was close to the end of his final contract when he sent the email on the morning before a staff Christmas party in December 2024. In the email, he wrote that when he leaves the FSAI, there will be zero Irish language capacity, and that no one else is fluent enough to speak, read and write the language to an advanced level. He added that there would be more Polish, Spanish, French and Italian in the FSAI than Irish, and described this as shameful for an Irish State agency.
He also stated that the only real excuses for not wanting to learn the language were that a person was an anti-Irish racist or lazy, a tribunal heard. In his evidence to the WRC, Ó Coistín said he experienced a series of microaggressions against the first official language over the 2½ years he worked at the agency. These included being asked whether he was a member of Sinn Féin when he disclosed his background as a native Irish speaker to a manager, and what he described as an attitude that it was annoying to provide official publications as Gaeilge.
Ó Coistín told the WRC he was upset that a human resources manager at the agency had accused him of racially harassing people with the message. He said the FSAI was full of very nice, highly educated people, but there was no competency in Irish.
FSAI response and investigation findings
FSAI human resources manager Jackie Wall gave evidence that she was approached with several verbal complaints before she had an opportunity to read the email herself. Two staff members addressed complaints in writing about how upset they were by some of the language used. Wall said people were angry, hurt, and that there was a range of emotions in the office on that particular day. Her concern was that it would turn into a keyboard warriors situation, with words going back and forward on the email system and staff WhatsApp groups, and that one word can lead to another, to another, and that can cause a bigger issue.
Counsel for the FSAI said Ó Coistín had been exonerated of the alleged breach of the diversity and equality policy, but that the investigation found that he did breach the agency's email policy. Ó Coistín argued that his email amounted to a protected disclosure in respect of the spending of State money and compliance with the Official Languages Act. However, the agency's barrister, Peadar Ó Maoiláin, said Ó Coistín had failed to identify alleged wrongdoing in his email and was out of time to pursue a whistleblower complaint.
WRC rulings and reasoning
In two decision documents published by the WRC on Thursday, adjudication officer Breiffní O'Neill ruled that Ó Coistín had not been dismissed when he was placed on administrative leave, as his pay continued. The operative cause for the termination at the end of 2024 was the expiry of the fixed-term agency contract, meaning he had no jurisdiction to rule on the matter under the legislation. O'Neill found further that Ó Coistín had been too late in filing a further set of statutory complaints under the Protected Disclosures Act and the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Workers) Act to challenge the events of December 2024 as either penalisation or less-favourable treatment. The adjudicator rejected an argument advanced by Ó Coistín that he was disadvantaged by the fact the State had not published an Irish-language version of those laws.
The WRC decisions bring an end to the employment rights claims, which centred on allegations of mistreatment and the termination of Ó Coistín's employment. The case highlighted tensions around the use of the Irish language in a State agency and the treatment of an employee who raised concerns about its decline.
Seanán Ó Coistín Workplace Relations Commission Food Safety Authority Of Ireland Irish Language Employment Rights Protected Disclosures Act Fixed-Term Work Act
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Northern Irish Drumcree Parade Dispute Stalemate PersistsThe ongoing conflict over the Orange Order parade remains unresolved after failed talks, legal challenges, and political confrontations, with no clear resolution in sight.
Read more »
The Evolution and Global Image of Irish WomanhoodA personal cultural essay contrasting the traditional Irishwoman, shaped by domestic expectations and matriarchal suspicion, with the modern international image of Irish women as thoughtful, intellectual and creatively powerful. It explores the influence of women writers such as Edna O'Brien, Sally Rooney, Anne Enright, Claire Keegan and Caroline O'Donoghue in turning Irish female experience into a prominent cultural export.
Read more »
Choosing a Secondary School: A Challenge for Irish ParentsIrish parents face growing pressure when selecting secondary schools for their children. School open days, peer influences, reputation, word of mouth, and statistics on progression to third-level education often complicate the decision, even though parents ultimately prioritise their child's happiness and personal development.
Read more »
Irish Life’s Unio hires from Goodbody to boost offering to wealth management clientsCompetition for senior talented staff heating up as more firms are attracted to growing sector
Read more »