Pontins issues apology for using Irish surname blacklist to stop bookings

Simon Kelly

Staff were also told to listen out for Irish accents.

British holiday firm Pontins has apologised after a list of people with “undesirable” Irish surnames “banned” from making bookings was made public.

A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) uncovered that the company had created a list that had included instructions to staff to refuse bookings specifically from the Irish Travelling community.

It was revealed by the commission that call centre staff were also instructed to listen out for Irish accents in order to decline or cancel their bookings.

This week, Pontins said they “deeply regret any distressed caused” and apologised particularly to the Traveller and gypsy community.

The apology is the first step in an action plan that the British holiday firm must set out to meet EHRC recommendations to tackle discriminatory practices.

Earlier this year, the EHRC found that the company engaged in multiple breaches of the Equality Act, which resulted in Pontins receiving an unlawful act notice as a result of “multiple instances of race discrimination against Irish Travellers”.

List of ‘undesirable guests’ issued by Pontins to staff

The full list of ‘undesirable guests’ is as follows:

Boylan
Boyle
Carney
Carr
Cash
Connors
Corcoran
Delaney
Doherty
Dorran
Gallagher
Horan
Keefe
Kell
Leahy
Lee
MacLaughlin
McAlwick
McCully
McDonagh
McGinley
McGinn
McGuiness
McHarg
McLaughan
McMahon
Millighan
Mongans
Murphy
Nolan
O’Brien
O’Connell
O’Donnell
O’Donoghue
O’Mahoney
O’Reilly
Sheridan
Stokes
Walch
Ward

Upon the revelations back in February, campaigns officer for charity Friends, Families and Travellers Chris McDonagh said: “It is deeply saddening that Irish Traveller people have become so used to hate and prejudice that the Pontins ‘blacklist’ did not come as a surprise.

“Whilst we are certain that Pontins are not the only ones operating such discriminatory policies, we welcome the EHRC’s investigation and commend the whistleblower’s principled stance.

“Everyone deserves to live free from hate and prejudice.”

Wow – this is the list of surnames that staff at British holiday park company Pontins were told to exclude from bookings.
"We do not want these guests on our parks" the blacklist on the company's intranet read. https://t.co/T5tjgznqUs
Scoop by @ChrisGreenNews and @cahalmilmo pic.twitter.com/4fd1r45fcP
— Naomi O'Leary (@NaomiOhReally) March 2, 2021

Pontins issue apology over discriminatory practices

This week, a spokesperson for Pontins issued an apology, saying: “On behalf of the owners, directors, senior managers and all of us here at Pontins, we would like to reiterate our apologies regarding the serious issues raised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in their report.

“In particular we want to apologise directly to the Traveller and gypsy community.

“The refusal to allow guests to stay at our parks because we suspected they were Irish Travellers was clearly wrong.

“We accept the serious nature of the issues raised in the report.

“We deeply regret any distress caused, particularly to members of the Traveller and gypsy communities who have been directly affected.

“Working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission we are fully committed to ensuring ongoing compliance with the Equality Act 2010, implementing a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination of all forms and to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for all of our guests.

“We have reviewed the points raised by the EHRC and have developed and entered into a one-year action plan, that will be monitored by the EHRC, to ensure ongoing compliance with the Equality Act 2010.”