DCU row lecturer is awarded €45,000
A FORMER lecturer who posted abusive remarks about his university's president and colleagues on his internet blog has been awarded €45,000 by a tribunal.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal found that Dublin City University (DCU) unfairly dismissed Dr Sean O Nuallain from his job as a lecturer in its computing school.
The tribunal said his "sometimes bizarre and unjustified behaviour" was not a basis for denying him fair procedures when he was fired in 2002.
It said these procedures included his right to trade union representation before a decision was taken on his dismissal and his right to a formal appeal.
The tribunal noted that Dr O Nuallain referred to the president of DCU, the heads of schools and other faculty members in his internet blog as "scum", "traitors", "criminals", "cowards" and "useful idiots".
He also used "other derogatory utterances to describe a significant number of named individuals in the university".
Dr O Nuallain, who began working at DCU in 1987, wanted his job back. But the tribunal said it was satisfied that reinstatement would not be an appropriate remedy.
The tribunal was told that the head of the School of Computer Applications had difficulty meeting Dr O Nuallain prior to his dismissal.
The college said he would not co-operate unless a union representative was present.
The tribunal found that by his failure to engage with DCU he contributed substantially to his dismissal.
Dr O Nuallain did not respond to calls from the Irish Independent last night. DCU did not make any comment.
- Andrew Bushe
Irish Independent
