Deaf man receives landmark award from WRC for disability discrimination by the National Council for Special Education

18 February 2026

• Noel O’Connell (a deaf man represented by FLAC) has 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.
  
  
• In 2022, Noel O’Connell applied for an Irish Sign Language (‘ISL’) Advisor role with the NCSE. 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.
  
  
• €13,000 is the maximum that can be awarded under the Employment Equality Acts in cases concerning access to employment. However, in 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 the draft legislation which would improve the level of compensation available to victims of discrimination in Ireland to be urgently advanced and enacted.

FLAC Managing Solicitor Sinéad Lucey commented today:

“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%, compared to 71% 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.”

Noel O’Connell commented today:

“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.”

ENDS

• The full decision of the WRC in Noel O’Connell v National Council for Special Education [ADJ-00042837] may be accessed here: https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2026/february/adj-00042837.html

Notes:

• Indirect discrimination is discrimination by effect or impact. It occurs where “an apparently neutral provision” puts a person protected by the equality legislation at a particular disadvantage (where the provision cannot be “objectively justified by a legitimate aim” or where it is not a necessary or proportionate way of achieving such an aim). The Mr O’Connell was denied an opportunity to interview for the position because of criteria being applied by the NCSE which it was significantly more difficult for a deaf person to meet.
• The employment participation rate statistics included above are based on CSO statistics which have been cited in the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030. Per Inclusion Ireland, “[p]eople with disabilities experience multiple barriers to accessing employment, including financial barriers, negative societal attitudes, environmental barriers, the education system and lack of opportunity.”
• There is no specialist or dedicated legal service or Law Centre for people with disabilities in Ireland. The civil legal aid minority report which was submitted to the Minister for Justice in April 2025 called for the establishment of such a service.

About FLAC

FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) is an independent legal, human rights and equality organisation, which works in a number of different ways to promote equal access to justice:

• In 2024, our Telephone Information and Referral Line responded to 11,435 queries. FLAC also provides Phone Legal Advice Clinics.
• Our independent law centre provides targeted legal services for the Traveller and Roma communities and also undertakes public interest litigation (i.e. cases which may have an impact beyond the individual).
• FLAC also operates PILA which facilitates NGOs to obtain legal assistance from private lawyers via its pro bono referral scheme.
• FLAC makes policy recommendations in relation to areas of law that most impact on people living in poverty and disadvantage, including equality and anti-discrimination law, social welfare law, housing law, human rights law, and access to justice.