Seán McEniff, chairman of the North West Regional Tourism Authority, is "hostile" to the company's senior tourism officer, Damien Brennan, becoming its chief executive, the High Court heard yesterday.
Mr Justice Éamon de Valera granted Mr Brennan, Aughamore, Sligo, injunctions blocking the continuation of selection interviews that started yesterday and restraining the authority from appointing anyone else as its acting chief executive.
Frank Beatty, counsel for Mr Brennan, told the court his client had twice unsuccessfully applied for the position of permanent chief executive, despite considerable support within the adjudicating panel for him.
Mr Brennan said in an affidavit that Mr McEniff had been a member of both selection panels and he knew him to be hostile towards his selection for the position. He said his failure to obtain the top post was because Mr McEniff was not well disposed towards him.
He said his job contract stated he would act as manager in the absence of the regional tourism manager, a title which had since been replaced by that of chief executive officer.
Mr Brennan told Mr Justice de Valera that while on a recent promotional trip to Japan, a job vacancy had been advertised for for the post of acting chief executive from April 18th to June 30th next, the day before regional tourism authorities are merged with Fáilte Ireland.
He had written to Mr McEniff telling him he expected to act as managing chief executive for that period but Mr McEniff had failed to address his "contractual rights". Despite union intervention and his solicitor, Michael Monahan, demanding that yesterday's interviews not take place, the authority was going ahead.
Mr Brennan said the merging of regional tourism authorities with Fáilte Ireland on July 1st would mean he would be employed as a public servant by Fáilte Ireland. Although he had failed to obtain a fair hearing at previous interviews due to the input of Mr McEniff, he had been advised that such an obstacle would not exist after July 1st.
Mr Brennan said it was imperative he be entitled to act as chief executive to allow him apply for the post in the context of acting chief executive and with experience of carrying out that post.
He believed Martina Bromley, a former sales and marketing manager in Mr McEniff's Tyrconnall Group, and who was 12 months in the job of business manager with the authority and junior to him, had been groomed for the job of acting and later permanent chief executive. He believed Mr McEniff to be well disposed towards her.