The Equality Tribunal found that The Talbot Hotel discriminated against Anne Harrington by failing to provide reasonable accommodation for her bathroom needs, and awarded her €500. Equality Officer Enda Murphy dated the decision 25 September 2008. The complaint concerned Harrington’s stay at the hotel in February 2005.
Harrington, a wheelchair user, said she could not use the shower or bath in either room made available to her. The hotel said it gave her access to the bathing facilities in another room. The officer found that neither room adequately met her needs and that one of the hotel’s fully accessible rooms should have been allocated to her. Those rooms were available at the time.
The officer rejected the separate complaint about access to the swimming pool. Harrington had not requested special measures, and staff were capable of helping her access the pool. The €500 award was compensation for the upset and humiliation caused by the failure to provide suitable bathroom facilities.