Bláthnaid drops case against RTÉ for sexual harassment
Presenter withdraws her WRC complaint at the eleventh hour
TELEVISION presenter Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh has dropped her sexual harassment case against RTÉ at the eleventh hour, saying she wants to ‘draw a line in the sand’.
Her case was due to get under way at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in Dublin yesterday.
She had lodged a complaint under the Employment Equality Act against the broadcaster – alleging discrimination by way of sexual harassment in July 2019 and subsequent victimisation. However, adjudicator Breiffni O’Neill was told that the case was no longer going ahead and that no compensation had been paid to Ms Ní Chofaigh.
Claire Bruton, Ms Ní Chofaigh’s barrister, read a statement at the opening of the hearing in which she said that her client was withdrawing the proceedings before the WRC.
She said Ms Ní Chofaigh ‘withdraws her allegation of discrimination by the respondent’.
She continued: ‘The claimant accepts the outcome of the RTÉ investigation processes in respect of all matters.
‘The parties confirm they are
‘They want to draw a line in the sand’
both satisfied to have reached agreement to draw a line in the sand and move on from these matters in light of their ongoing working relationship.’
She stated that no compensation was paid to the presenter in the context of the agreement.
The statement was confirmed by Mairéad McKenna BL for RTÉ. The broadcaster had previously denied all the allegations made against it.
Ms Ní Chofaigh became the newest presenter of Nationwide in January 2020 following the retirement of Mary Kennedy and RTÉ confirmed in May this year that she would be staying on screen despite her pending WRC case.
Ms Ní Chofaigh did not attend the brief hearing yesterday.
She had been due to give evidence to support her claim that she was sexually harassed, victimised and isolated while working for RTÉ.
The commission had been told it would hear evidence about events which took place at a photoshoot and at a hotel, but it had ordered that the alleged perpetrators would not be publicly named.
The hearing had initially been scheduled for late June, but on that occasion Ms McKenna told the adjudicator that the case could not proceed as a number of key witnesses for RTÉ had Covid.
Ms Bruton had said her client was anxious for the case to proceed but that she had agreed to the temporary postponement.
The WRC heard from counsel that RTÉ would have seven witnesses and Ms Ní Chofaigh would have five. The hearing was expected to last for four days.
Mr O’Neill had said witness anonymity would apply to everyone who was being called to give evidence, from both sides.
He said he planned for evidence about events that occurred in the hotel after the photoshoot to be heard during a private session and that the public and media would be asked to leave the room.
He explained: ‘The reason that part of the hearing will be in private is because high-profile individuals, without any connection [to the case] were there and their names will come up and because they are not related to this in any shape or form and have nothing to do with the issue, their names should not come out.’
At an earlier preliminary hearing, Ms Bruton referred to an internal investigation report in which three individuals were named.
She said her client had been victimised and ‘sidelined in the office’ after raising the issue.
Ms Ní Chofaigh has worked with the national broadcaster for more than 30 years, making her debut in 1988 on the teen entertainment show Jo Maxi and going on to host programmes such as Echo Island and The Afternoon Show, as well as leading coverage of the annual St Patrick’s Day parade.
No compensation was paid to her