The High Court has dismissed a teacher’s challenge to decisions to initially transfer her to another school and later place her on administrative leave.
Mary McEneaney claimed that once the Cavan and Monaghan Education Training Board learned in 2009 that she suffered from depression, she had been discriminated against by the board on grounds of her illness.
The court heard that Ms McEneaney had been the subject of a number of complaints by pupils and their parents about her teaching at Largy College in Clones, Co Monaghan.
Ms McEneaney, a biology and home economics teacher, sought to quash the transfer decision of August 2013 and a later decision to place her on administrative leave. She said the board had failed to implement appropriate procedures under a 2009 Department of Education circular dealing with competency issues.
The High Court president, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, dismissed her application, saying Ms McEneaney suffered significant health issues. The only way she could return to teaching at Largy College would be after several complaints against her had been “appropriately resolved”.
School transfer
Ms McEneaney rejected claims by the board that the compulsory transfer from the 500-pupil Largy College to a smaller school in Co Cavan was based on concerns about her mental health and that it was intended as “a fresh start” for her and in her own best interests and that of the college.
She alleged that she had not been given a proper opportunity to deal with five complaints from parents and pupils. There had not been a formal investigation into the complaints, all of which she had rejected. The board said no investigation had been conducted due to its concerns about Ms McEneaney’s health. It denied any wrongdoing and said its decision to place her on administrative leave was “appropriate, proportioned and rational”.