A Traveller centre in Co Cork has welcomed the decision of a court which last week found in favour of three members of the Travelling community who claimed they were discriminated against by being refused entry to a pub.
Clonakilty District Court heard that last October, Michelle O'Driscoll and Mary O'Driscoll were refused entry to the Galley bar in the town. The O'Driscolls claimed they were denied access because they were Travellers.
The following day, Kathleen O'Driscoll returned with the other women to confront the owners about why they were refused entry the night before, the court heard. They did not get satisfaction and decided to take a civil case against proprietors Conor Mulcahy, Alan Farrelly and Philip Clifford under the Equal Status Act.
In 2003, the Equal Status Act was made the responsibility of the district court rather than an equality tribunal. There were fears that this might make it more difficult to secure positive outcomes for people bringing cases against businesses or groups allegedly discriminating against minorities, such as Travellers.
Last week, the court found that the women had been discriminated against. It ordered that the bar pay up to €1,000 plus VAT in costs and also €500 to Kathleen O'Driscoll in compensation.
The judge also instructed the respondents to write letters to each of the women apologising for what happened and indicating that they would be made welcome in the bar in the future.
Kevin McCaughey, co-ordinator of the West Cork Traveller Centre, said that it was "a great day" for Travellers.
"After the Government removed the adjudication of such cases from the equality tribunal to the district court system in 2003, the vintners may have felt that the equality legislation no longer applied to them. But this verdict is a reminder that all of their customers must be treated fairly and equally."
Mr McCaughey called on all businesses to "take their responsibilities in this area seriously and develop equality policies to ensure that their staff are informed and the customers protected".
Mr Mulcahy of the Galley bar told The Irish Times yesterday he would comply fully with the judgment. "There are ways I could have treated the women better but I didn't treat them any differently because they were members of the Travelling community," he said. "Having said that, I don't have a major problem with the decision of the court and as far as I am concerned, the matter is closed."