Paris embassy employee agrees settlement

The Department of Foreign Affairs has reached a settlement with an embassy employee who was sacked after nearly 17 years' service…

The Department of Foreign Affairs has reached a settlement with an embassy employee who was sacked after nearly 17 years' service.

Eduardo Ramos was employed as the house manager in the Irish embassy in Paris, but he was told that the incoming ambassador Anne Anderson would prefer to have a woman in the post for personal reasons.

I feel it's difficult to take out of my heart or my mind. I am a little bit upset
Eduardo Ramos

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman confirmed that a settlement had been reached with Mr Ramos, who is still living on the fourth floor of the embassy building with his wife and his one-year-old daughter.

The previous ambassador, Padraig MacKernan, had hired Mr Ramos as a tutor to his family when he was ambassador to Washington and had kept him in employment when he moved to different embassies.

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Speaking from Paris, Mr Ramos said he was relieved at the outcome but still upset at having lost his job. "Even I have a settlement now, I feel it's difficult to take out of my heart or my mind. I am a little bit upset."

The row over the removal of Mr Ramos from his position at the embassy prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs to issue a statement two months ago in defence of Ms Anderson's decision.

It said she had used her personal discretion in making an appointment to this "sensitive domestic post", and added that the former ambassador, Mr MacKernan, had also been allowed to choose his own household staff.

The amount of compensation paid under the settlement has not been disclosed but the Department of Foreign Affairs has agreed to allow Mr Ramos to stay in the embassy until mid-September so that he can find alternative accommodation for his family.

It has also pledged to help him get a social security number and a residency card to allow him to live and work in France.

PA