The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, has decided not to appeal the decision of the Labour Court to award a record £100,000 each to four female clerical workers in the Irish Aviation Authority.
She told her Cabinet colleagues yesterday that no appeal would be lodged against the ruling. She did not require Cabinet approval and, a spokesman said, it was "her call and her decision".
In spite of suggestions to the contrary, there had never been an intention to appeal the decision, the spokesman added.
"Without wishing to comment on the particular details of this case, I strongly endorse the principle of equality and equal pay for equal work and will continue to support and endorse efforts across the sectors for which I am responsible to ensure that this basic principle becomes a reality and not just an aspiration," she said later.
The women's case began in 1992 when they were paid £12,468 a year as communications assistants while male radio officers received a salary of £21,941. The Labour Court found on Monday that the differential in pay between the claimants and the comparators was not based on any grounds other than gender.