Aer Lingus chief executive Mr Michael Foley has halted the disciplinary process and questioned the role of company chairman Mr Bernie Cahill in the inquiry that found him guilty of sexual harassment.
The High Court yesterday granted Mr Foley an interim injunction preventing the State airline taking further disciplinary action against him.
Mr Foley was effectively suspended last Friday after a board sub-committee found he sexually harassed two female employees - a SIPTU worker-director, Ms Joan Loughnane, and a head office staff member, Ms Anne Lawlor.
In an affidavit read to the court by Ms Mary Irvine SC, Mr Foley revealed that Mr Cahill had asked him to stand aside on April 19th pending the investigation. "My refusal to accede to Mr Cahill's suggestion generated a good deal of ill feeling on his part towards me," the affidavit said.
Mr Foley also said Ms Lawlor was "adamant" her complaint would not have been made had it not been for a conversation with Mr Cahill, who had called her into his office and asked her if she had a complaint.
"He said he had documents which she could fill out in order to do so. She said that she was shocked and had no idea what he was referring to. She said he was quite strong in pursuing the issue with her. She said he told her that he had received another complaint and when she asked him who it was, the chairman told her it was Joan Loughnane."
The airline was not represented during the hearing before Mr Justice Finnegan and its spokesman declined to comment last night. Both sides are expected to appear before the High Court next Monday.
Welcoming the injunction as the first step in clearing his name, Mr Foley said he and his family had been victims of "scurrilous allegations".
The affidavit said his solicitors had advised it would not be safe for him to make a submission to a board sub-committee empowered to take such action as deemed necessary in the light of the inquiry.
Dismissal on grounds of gross misconduct may be imminent, Mr Foley said. He said the subcommittee should not make a decision "simply on the basis of findings of fact made by others".
"I am advised and so believe that I have a contractual entitlement to an appeal. The board does not acknowledge that I have that right and appears to envisage that I may not be entitled to take the matter any further once the special subcommittee has reached its decision."
The affidavit did not specify the actions alleged by the complainants. Ms Lawlor's complaint was made in a letter of March 22nd, following a complaint by Ms Loughnane on February 20th which related to an alleged incident on October 26th, 2000.
The alleged incident with Ms Loughnane took place behind closed doors. A fellow SIPTU worker-director, Mr William Clarke, said Ms Loughnane was "visibly shaken" after the incident. But Mr Foley said two other worker-directors present in the room noticed nothing of significance.
Mr Foley said Mr Clarke admitted disliking him from the time he joined the company last September. Mr Clarke was "extremely angry" at Mr Foley's involvement in negotiations with the IMPACT union, which acted for cabin crew staff who had left SIPTU.
