Action by employee accused of sexual harassment in National Museum adjourned to 2019
A High Court challenge brought by a senior employee of the National Museum of Ireland against a decision to suspend him following complaints of sexual harassment won't be heard until the new year.
The action has been brought by Dr Andrew Halpin who has brought a number of proceedings arising out of a decision to suspend him from his position as Assistant Keeper of Irish Antiquities following media reports in February 2017 of alleged sexual harassment.
The complaints were made against him by former female employees at the museum, the court heard.
Dr Halpin denies all the claims against him and has argued the decision to suspend him was unwarranted and unlawful.
Dr Halpin says the claims are false and in proceedings against the museum pending before the High Court has sought various declarations from the High Court which if granted will allow him to return to work.
Last June, Dr Halpin, of Yellow Meadows Avenue, Clondalkin, Dublin brought a second set of proceedings against the museum for allegedly changing the terms of his suspension.
In those proceedings, he seeks orders including an injunction preventing an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment of two female former employees of the museum from proceeding until the full case has been determined.
That application was due to be heard before the High Court on Thursday.
However, when the matter was mentioned before Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds today the Judge agreed to adjourn the case.
The adjournment was granted after the court was told that new information concerning the museum's disciplinary code became known to Dr Halpin's legal team.
Oisin Quinn SC for the museum, which opposes the allegations, said that Dr Halpin's legal team had in recent days without any prior notice to his client submitted another sworn statement.
Counsel said the contents of that affidavit "fundamentally changed the basis of the case" his client has to meet.
In seeking to have the matter adjourned counsel said his client needed time to reply to the sworn statement and the hearing could not proceed later this week.
Frank Callanan SC for Dr Halpin said the affidavit contained information concerning the museum's disciplinary code under which his client is being investigated.
The statement contains matters that only became known to his client in recent days, and which Dr Halpin had no prior knowledge of, counsel said.
Ms Justice Reynolds, who said the situation was unsatisfactory, agreed to adjourn the case.
The Judge made directions in regards to the exchange of documents in the case and said that it would not be heard until the new year.
