A dispute over a house manager employed at the Irish Embassy in Paris has been resolved "satisfactorily", the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The Embassy's maitre d'hotel, Eduardo Ramos began legal proceedings earlier this year after being informed that his employment was being terminated with the appointment of a new Ambassador.
A department spokeswoman confirmed yesterday a settlement had been reached, which included the payment of "an appropriate sum" to Mr Ramos "to help him with re-employment and relocation expenses".
It is understood Mr Ramos, his wife and adopted daughter will leave their apartment in the Embassy this month. Though the agreement allowed them to stay until mid-September, Mr Ramos said he was taking up the option of a €1,000 bonus he was offered if he left this month.
They will initially stay in a chambre de bonne with his wife's employers, the former French foreign minister Claude Cheysson.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Mr Ramos declined to reveal details of the settlement, saying: "It's okay. I am satisfied . . . It's a confidential agreement."
The dispute arose after outgoing Ambassador Pádraic MacKernan declined to terminate the contract of Mr Ramos, who had worked in various Irish Embassies over a 17-year period. The department and the incoming Paris Ambassador, Anne Anderson, said his employment should end with Mr MacKernan's departure.
Following the instigation of legal proceedings, the department said Ms Anderson had wished to exercise "her personal discretion in making an appointment to this sensitive domestic post".
They said she had informed Mr MacKernan that "in her personal circumstances, and given the nature of some of the housekeeping tasks involved, she would have a preference for a female employee in this role."
Mr Ramos who served as Ambassador MacKernan's maitre d'hotel from 2001 until 2005, said yesterday: "The MacKernans were very good to me. They treated me like a member of their family. I love them very much."
Mr MacKernan said yesterday Mr Ramos would not have been dismissed and the episode would not have occurred if the department and the Embassy had abided by the requirements of French law.
When contacted, Ms Anderson told The Irish Times: "I am pleased with the outcome, and that Mr Ramos has accepted the notice period initially offered. My concern throughout has been to manage the Paris Embassy in the most effective and professional manner."