A chemist has been ordered to pay €4,000 in compensation for discrimination against a member of the Traveller community. Ms Mary O'Reilly complained to the equality authority she was discriminated against by Mr Noel Ryan, chemist, of Nenagh, Co Tipperary.
Ms O'Reilly said she went to the shop with prescriptions on three days in 2001 and was asked to go to another pharmacy as the shop did not have the items she required.
On a third occasion she realised she was being refused service since the items she required were standard, generally available medicines.
The respondent's case was that Mr Ryan did not serve Ms O'Reilly, even though he had the stock required, because he associated her with a group which intermittently entered his premises, was abusive and damaged stock. He did not believe there was a statutory basis for the complaint. The equality officer, Ms Bernadette Treanor, said the presumption of discrimination based on the evidence was not rebutted by the respondent.
