Ongoing leaks cause ‘significant personal stress’ among Trinity board members – The University Times

Trinity College Dublin’s board chair Paul Farrell and other board members expressed concern about the ongoing information leaks in the published minutes of a board meeting on May 22. Chairman Farrell described board members as experiencing “significant personal distress” due to the information leaks, which have been ongoing for four years.

As summarized in the May 22 minutes, board members stated that these ongoing breaches of confidentiality had a “chilling effect on free speech” and could not be ignored. It also stated that it was “not common for boards to have failed to take action to deal with such breaches.” Since these leaks have occurred over the past four years, the then board chair (now provost) had warned in the past that if the breaches continued, it would be “necessary to take action.”

The minutes then noted Chairman Farrell’s response, in which he acknowledged that sanctions are imposed for violations at other universities, despite there being no such provisions in Trinity’s current statutes. It went on to say that Farrell had noted that such sanctions “would provide a mechanism for dealing with blatant misconduct by board members.”

Principal Dr. Linda Doyle stated that the “proposal to mark sensitive topics as confidential would be considered.” She also expressed her willingness to work with board members who may be responsible for informing the electorate about board meeting topics.

Paul Farrell concluded the meeting’s discussion of the violations by “acknowledging the sensitivity of introducing sanctions so soon after recent events.” It is important to note that this May 22 board meeting took place just days after the successful conclusion of Trinity students’ BDS protest against Trinity’s ties to Israel. However, discussions about sanctions related to the above violations continued, most notably at the February 2023 board meeting where the decision was made to draft rules for consideration. The minutes of the February meeting state: “In view of the potentially serious and damaging consequences of breaches, the Board has approved a proposal to instruct the Registrar to draft sanction clauses for inclusion in the Articles of Association and to submit them for approval at a future Board meeting.”

Farrell then noted that it would be a conflict of interest to lead the future discussion on leaks, as he himself had been “personally affected by a breach”. The board then decided that Vice Chair Mary Kelly would take on that responsibility going forward. In addition to this decision, it also determined that College Secretary/Director of Governance Victoria Butler would “work with the Registrar to review the succession planning process following the dismissal of a board member”, stressing the need for a “robust” plan for such replacements.

At the end of the discussion on the violations, the board members agreed that discussions on this topic should remain “strictly confidential.”