Weather presenter Ms Joan Blackburn is seeking €20,700 in lost earnings as part of an unfair dismissal case against RTÉ. She took the case a year ago after she was deselected from a panel of Met Éireann weather forecasters.
At a sitting of the Employment Appeals Tribunal yesterday, Mr Roddy Horan, for RTÉ, claimed a legally binding contract of employment never existed between the organisation and Ms Blackburn.
Ms Blackburn told how after being selected along with four colleagues to provide television weather forecasts in 1988, she signed a contract with RTÉ two years later.
In 1998 RTÉ put out a tender for the meteorological service which Met Éireann won. There was controversy when the broadcaster said it wanted to use its own television presenters who were not meteorologists.
Around this time Ms Blackburn became aware that she was supposed to be advertising the new presenters who were appearing on Network 2 after completing her own weather report on RTÉ 1.
RTÉ eventually decided to use a mix of meteorologists and presenters in its weather reports. In spring last year Ms Blackburn and her colleagues were told they would have to audition again.
Ms Blackburn was not picked for the new panel, which was made up of Mr Gerry Fleming, Ms Evelyn Cusack, Ms Jean Byrne, Mr John Eagleton and Mr Gerry Murphy. Instead, she was asked to complete her rostered television duties. She still does weather reports on radio as part of her duties with Met Éireann.
Mr Horan said a contract of employment did not exist. Ms Blackburn was merely supplying a service for which RTÉ was paying appearance fees and allowances. Mr Mallon, for Ms Blackburn, said that Ms Blackburn had been an integral part of the business of RTÉ.
The case continues this morning.