Court refuses further injunction to Nolan over dismissal

The High Court has refused to grant a further injunction to Professor Philip Nolan restraining his dismissal from his position as Director General of Science Foundation Ireland (SCI).

In a ruling published today, the court found that the SCI board was entitled to dismiss Prof Nolan for “no reason at all” in accordance with the terms of his contract.

But it said the reasons for his dismissal were “no doubt connected” with the disruption in the organisation which had arisen following the making of protected disclosures involving claims against Prof Nolan from five staff members.

Mr Justice Rory Mulcahy ruled there was no evidence that the board had decided he should be dismissed because of misconduct, which could have formed the basis for continuing the injunction.

He refused to grant an extension of his earlier order preventing Prof Nolan’s dismissal. He also refused to grant orders permitting Prof Nolan to return to work pending the outcome of his case against SFI.

However, the judge said the temporary injunction preventing Prof Nolan’s dismissal would remain in place until he makes final orders in the case.

The matter will be back in court on 4 July to finalise issues and to deal with costs.

Prof Nolan is not commenting on the outcome of the case. It is not yet clear whether he intends to appeal.

Prof Nolan had argued that his dismissal at the end of May was without “any conceivable justification” and that the decision had been reached without affording him any fair procedures, in breach of SFI’s implied contractual obligations.

SFI argued that he had been dismissed in accordance with the provisions of his contract and not for misconduct.

It said, in those circumstances, it was entitled to dismiss him without any requirement to afford him fair procedures.

The court ruled that Prof Nolan had not made out a sufficient case that he was dismissed for misconduct.

Mr Justice Mulcahy said that given the allegations made during the court case, there must be a “very serious question” about whether this was an employer/employee relationship which could ever be repaired.

He said that even if he had decided to grant the injunction, it would not have been appropriate to make an order requiring SFI to facilitate Prof Nolan’s return to work as this would have involved the court micro -managing his employment and undermining the defendant’s ability to ensure it addressed its duty of care to all employees.

The judge also said it did not automatically flow from his dismissal that Prof Nolan would lose his role as CEO Designate of Research Ireland. He said these were matters entirely for the relevant minister.

The court heard that the origin of some of the dispute stemmed from a letter sent by Prof Nolan to the board in February 2022, after he had been refused permission to take up a role as chair of St James’s Hospital.

In the letter he called the decision “profoundly disappointing” and said it raised concerns about the position and disposition of the board. He later apologised for sending the letter.

In April 2023, it was announced that SFI and the Irish Research Council would be amalgamated into a new body called Research Ireland or Taighde Éireann. Prof Nolan was announced as the CEO designate of the organisation.

Just before Christmas 2023, five senior members of staff made protected disclosures outlining allegations against Prof Nolan, including complaints of bullying.

SFI appointed a barrister to conduct an investigation. The investigation found there had been no breaches of corporate governance or bullying but concluded Prof Nolan had a case to answer that there had been “inappropriate behaviour” falling short of bullying, and a disciplinary process would be required to respond to these allegations.

Prof Nolan took time off work due to an illness, brought on by stress. During this time details of the investigation were published in the media.

When he returned to work in May 2024, he sent an email to all staff in SFI which, the court heard, was criticised by some of those who made allegations as being “inappropriate, provocative” and untrue.

Prof Nolan said he was appointed to deliver change and reform to SFI and that he met significant resistance to that from senior management. He said the allegations against him were without foundation.

Court ruling welcomed by SFI

Science Foundation Ireland said it welcomes the High Court decision “which brings greater clarity and stability” to its leadership after “a challenging period” for the agency, its staff and stakeholders.

In a statement, SFI said that Dr Ciarán Seoighe continues to lead the organisation.

It added that the decision means the agency can “refocus on its goal to support Ireland’s ambitions to be a global innovation leader in scientific and engineering research”.