Start-up founders allegedly told 'didn’t have enough diversity' fail in claim against EI for second time

Three business founders from Longford have had their discrimination claim against Enterprise Ireland dismissed by the Workplace Relations Commission for a second time. Mark Keenan, Michael O'Reilly and Robert Yorke, who own the sharing economy platform LendRB Ltd, alleged they were told during a 2022 funding interview that they "didn't have enough diversity". The complainants sought to proceed on the basis that discrimination occurred against them as individuals rather than the corporate entity. However, adjudicating officer Niamh O'Carroll found the new complaint was identical to a previous claim already rejected in 2023 on statutory grounds. Ms O'Carroll noted the matter had been ruled statute-barred and that a corporate entity cannot refer an equality claim under legislation. The founders indicated their intention to pursue the matter to the Labour Court.