Former Labour Court deputy chair Alan Haugh is set to be reappointed to the role after finishing first in a recruitment process, after the Department of Public Expenditure’s refusal in September to sanction the renewal of his contract.
Mr Haugh, a barrister, served in the role for 10 years and had expected to have his five-year contract renewed.
However, the Department of Public Expenditure said Government policy limited the total amount of time senior executives could serve in particular roles to two terms of five years.
As there was already an existing separate vacant position of deputy chair – the Labour Court has three – he applied for that role and has since come through a process that included two rounds of interviews.
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It is understood that he was ranked first after the final round in which three candidates were interviewed and it is expected he will now be recommended for the post by the Public Appointments Service.
The role carries a salary of up to to €192,000.
The final decision again rests with the Minister for Enterprise, Peter Burke, although the sanction of the Department of Public Expenditure would still be required.
The fact he was allowed to participate in the recruitment in the process would suggest Mr Burke will be in a position to appoint him this time.
Contacted by The Irish Times, Mr Haugh said he had not heard from either department.
In June the Department of Enterprise wrote to the Department of Public Expenditure seeking approval to reappoint Mr Haugh for a further five-year term to run until September 2030.
The Department of Enterprise said Mr Haugh had “served with distinction” as a deputy chair of the Labour Court.
However, the Department of Public Expenditure rejected the request on the basis he had already served two consecutive five-year terms.
It said the code of practice for the governance of State bodies and associated guidance in terms of tenure and contract duration were clear in terms of the treatment of reappointments.
“As the proposed reappointment of the deputy chair will have served ten years in September 2025, anything beyond this would contravene long-standing policy and present risks in terms of contract of indefinite duration.”
Chairwoman of the Labour Court Louise O’Donnell objected to the decision by the Department of Public Expenditure to block the reappointment of Mr Haugh and said it would cause operational difficulties for it.
“If Mr Haugh is not to be reappointed it will mean the court operating with one chairman and one deputy chair for the foreseeable future which is neither practical nor workable,” she said.
“The court in 2024 opened 824 hearings and up to end of July 2025, 509 hearings. If the court finds itself down another deputy chair at this time the number of hearings will drop significantly, with no corresponding drop in appeals.”
Deputy chairs are responsible for managing the divisions of the court to which they are assigned and ensuring that they dispose of cases fairly, efficiently and within a predetermined time frame.
The Labour Court is the sole appellate body in employment rights disputes, ruling on appeals of Workplace Relations Commission adjudication decisions. The Labour Court is also the ‘court of last resort’ in industrial relations disputes.
