DUBLIN, Ireland: Kenny Jacobs, the suspended CEO of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), has stated that the allegations against him, calling DAA employees "sexist, misogynistic, racist, homophobic and ageist behaviour" are baseless.
Jacobs also told the High Court in writing that the allegations against him of being responsible for suicide attempts by employees were also false and unjustifiable.
He also said he had not interfered with the state-owned company's procurement processes.
Claiming that he had been sick at a service station only minutes after having been told by the DAA chairman to leave his office, he told the court that the stress caused to him, his wife, and his family by his suspension and matters leading up to it had been "immense."
"I have suffered physical and mental harm by the behaviour of certain board members and by my suspension," he stated in an affidavit used to obtain short service of legal proceedings against DAA, the operator of Dublin and Cork airports.
He is trying to overturn his suspension and return to his job.
Jacobs told his lawyers — Padraic Lyons SC, barrister Colm Kitson, and Arthur Cox Solicitors — that his stress would continue and get worse if the disciplinary investigation went ahead without an independent and impartial decision-maker.
In an affidavit, he said his doctor advised that going back to work and focusing on business would help him recover from the harm he has suffered.
"My health has worsened because of how I have been treated," he said. He added that he has seen his GP, DAA occupational health doctors, and other specialists, and has been prescribed medication, including drugs commonly used for anxiety and insomnia.
He said the damage to him is ongoing and hard to measure, and that the decision to start the investigation and publicly suspend him hurt his reputation and professional standing.
Jacobs said he is still committed to his job as DAA chief executive and would return to work immediately if allowed. He said the situation is urgent and that the court should step in to stop a process that has "gone badly wrong."
He told the court he had already been cleared of two major allegations by an inquiry led by senior counsel Mark Connaughton, and claimed that another 20 allegations were being prepared to ensure a negative outcome in the new investigation.
In written evidence, Jacobs accused DAA chairman Basil Geoghegan of trying to force him out, saying that despite the earlier inquiry's findings, Geoghegan asked him to resign and accept a "very favourable" exit package.
DAA's lawyers, McCann FitzGerald Solicitors, have been served with Jacobs's legal action, which Justice Emily Farrell adjourned on January 7.
Lyons told the judge that the January 12 hearing would move the court application forward quickly.
