AN IARNRÓD ÉIREANN worker who was dismissed after he detained a teenager who was smoking on a train has lost a case for unfair dismissal.
Faolain Fanning, of Bridgetown, Co Wexford, later told his employer that he had a medical condition which made him aggressive.
In May 2008, Mr Fanning saw a 17-year-old boy smoking at the doors of a train when it was stopped at a station, the Employment Appeals Tribunal heard.
Mr Fanning told the boy to put out the cigarette, but the young man put out the cigarette and blew smoke into Mr Fanning’s face, the court heard.
When the worker asked the passenger to leave, he started “kicking off” on the platform and pushed Mr Fanning’s arm out of the way.
Mr Fanning claimed that he blocked the teenager by trapping him between the railings with his arms.
He subsequently removed him to the booking office, the tribunal was told.
Mr Fanning called gardaí and would not allow the young man to leave the station.
The station manager told the tribunal that Mr Fanning did not have the authority to detain a passenger.
The teenager’s mother later made a complaint to Iarnród Éireann that her son had bruises after the incident.
The operations manager of the station told the tribunal that it was not procedure to manhandle a customer.It was during a disciplinary hearing that Mr Fanning told the company of a medical condition that made him aggressive.
However, the chief medical officer was unable to find anything wrong with him and Mr Fanning was dismissed, the tribunal heard.
Mr Fanning denied a history of being rude or abusive.
The tribunal also heard about a court case in which Mr Fanning pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of the public at a train station.
Following the 2004 case his job was downgraded to train cleaning. He was transferred and given a final warning.
The tribunal found that correct procedures had been followed by Iarnród Éireann, and that Mr Fanning had not been unfairly dismissed.