The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (‘the Commission’) has welcomed a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) decision in favour a man who was discriminated against by being refused service in a supermarket, on the grounds of being a member of the Traveller/Roma Community. The Commission provided legal representation in the case. The discrimination arose during an incident in October 2023 when the man visited the supermarket near to his home, together with his daughter. Having gathered his items, he presented them at the checkout, only to be denied service at that point. With assistance from the Commission, the man brought a case to the WRC under the Equal Status Acts. The Adjudication Officer in the WRC, Mr Thomas O’Driscoll found the evidence of the man to be cogent and persuasive and that he was satisfied, on the balance of probabilities that the denial of service was based on a stereotype associated with persons of Roma heritage. In his decision, he wrote,
“I find it likely that the Respondent's witnesses knew the Complainant and his family were of Roma heritage, as they had attended at the shop previously and lived locally, but I conclude that they (the staff) were under instruction to deny the Complainant service, should he appear at the shop.”
In addition to the finding of discrimination, Mr O’Driscoll also found that man’s subsequent ejection from the shop constituted harassment. He ordered the respondent to pay the man compensation in the sum of €6000. Deirdre Malone, the Director of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission says,
“This case demonstrates the pervasive discrimination that members of the Roma community can face when accessing basic services, in this case an act as mundane as trying to pay for their groceries in a supermarket. We commend the complainant on his courage to take a case to the WRC and welcome the favourable decision in his favour. We wish him and his family well in the future."
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The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is an independent public body, appointed by the President and directly accountable to the Oireachtas. The Commission has a statutory remit set out under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, and build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is Ireland’s national human rights institution and is recognised as such by the United Nations. The Commission is also Ireland’s national equality body for the purpose of a range of EU anti-discrimination measures