Bus Éireann to pay €4k compensation after visually impaired man ‘publicly humiliated’

It said a simple notice on all buses that guide dogs are welcome could avoid such incidents and it urged Bus Éireann to consider its suggestion.

The company accepted Mr Walsh had not been allowed on the bus but maintained the incident was an isolated one due to “an honest mistake”.

However, Bus Éireann denied that its treatment of the passenger constituted discrimination.

Mr Walsh told the Workplace Relations Commission that a bus driver told him that there was no room for him and his guide dog when he tried to board the 226 bus service to Cork in Kinsale on June 26, 2023.

Mr Walsh said the driver confirmed to him that he was refusing to let him travel on the service, although the bus was “practically empty”.

Mr Walsh explained that he had never previously been stopped from getting on a bus with his guide dog.

He claimed the driver replied: “There’s a first time for everything.” When he asked the driver for his name, he was told to take a picture.

Mr Walsh said the 226 service was usually a double-decker bus but was a coach on this occasion.

He told the driver he would normally sit at the back on a coach with his guide dog sitting at his feet without getting in the way of other passengers.

However, Mr Walsh said the driver told him to wait for a double-decker bus.

When MrWalsh explained he needed to take that bus in order not to miss a medical appointment he claimed the driver replied: “That’s not my problem.” Mr Walsh got off the bus as he felt the driver was looking for an argument and he did not want to cause a fuss.

Mr Walsh said he had to take a taxi to Cork which he found “extremely stressful” as he had to give the taxi driver his PIN to get money from an ATM because they had to divert to Cork Airport to withdraw money to pay the fare.

Mr Walsh also complained that he had received no response from Bus Éireann to an official complaint he submitted to the company.

Bus Éireann’s accessibility manager Christian Clarke apologised for its failure to respond to Mr Walsh’s complaint which he blamed on “administrative issues” and also offered to reimburse the cost of his taxi fare to Cork.

However, he noted that the complainant had got a bus back to Kinsale on the same day without incident. 

A Bus Éireann service delivery manager, Frances McCarthy, said the driver had never been the subject of complaints before and was genuinely very sorry for what happened.

Ms McCarthy said the driver had told Mr Walsh he could not get on the bus because he was concerned his guide dog might “block the aisle”.

Workplace Relations Commission adjudication officer Catherine Byrne said that while it may have been an isolated incident, its impact on Mr Walsh was considerable and he was “publicly humiliated” and “inconvenienced with how he went about his daily business.