Dr David Parris, a retired Trinity lecturer, is bringing the college before the European Union’s Court of Justice, claiming that Trinity has discriminated against him in relation to his pension rights, based on his sexual orientation and his age.
The lecturer in the Department of French, who retired in 2010, worked in Trinity from 1972. Parris claims that the university’s pension conditions break European law by preventing his partner of 30 years receiving a survivor’s pension in the event of Parris’ death. Under Trinity’s pension scheme, a member must have entered into a civil partnership before their 60th birthday, in order for their survivor to claim their pension provisions.
Parris’ claim was dismissed by the Equality Tribunal in Ireland, and after an appeal before the Labour Court the issue has been referred it to the European Court after a preliminary hearing.
According to the Labour Court referral, the European Court will question whether the qualifying pension conditions “constitute discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation” given that Parris could not enter a civil partnership by national law before his 60th birthday, even though he and “his civil partner had formed a committed life partnership before that date”.
Civil partnerships were only recognised in Ireland in 2011, when Parris was passed the age of 60. Despite this, in 2009 Parris entered into a civil partnership in the UK, and got married there last year.
Before the Equality Tribunal, according to The Times newspaper, Trinity argued “that the issue of a survivor’s pension would not arise unless Dr Parris predeceased his partner and therefore he was anticipating discriminatory treatment”. The Equality Tribunal dismissed Parris’ case because “Trinity was allowed to rely on a section of the Pensions Act that permits pension scheme operators to fix an age to qualify for entitlements.”
The Higher Education Authority, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Education and Skills are also defendants in the case, which goes before the European Court on Thursday.
