Senior civil servant Declan Hughes quits board of crisis-ridden Science Foundation Ireland

A senior civil servant has resigned from the board of the crisis-ridden state research agency.

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) has sacked Professor Philip Nolan as its boss in the fallout from bullying allegations.

The former National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) member is seeking to have his dismissal overturned.

A High Court judge will give his decision on the matter next week.

But now Department of Enterprise secretary general Declan Hughes has resigned with immediate effect from the board of SFI.

Mr Hughes is effectively the main government representative on the board. His reasons for standing down are not clear, but it is believed he cited work commitments as the secretary general.

He was appointed to that role 13 months ago. The timing of his departure, ahead of the High Court ruling, has raised eyebrows.

Mr Hughes has been a member of the board since 2022 and was therefore involved in decisions of the board around investigating complaints against Prof Nolan and ultimately his sacking last month.

“Declan Hughes has stood down from the board of Science Foundation ­Ireland. We are awaiting a replacement nomination from the department,” a spokesperson said.

An investigation commissioned by the board of SFI found Prof Nolan’s conduct was “at the upper end of inappropriate behaviour and just below bullying”.

Prof Nolan was found to not be in breach of corporate governance, the investigation found his conduct did not constitute bullying, and it did not make any finding of misconduct or gross misconduct. And he denied all the allegations against him.

Five senior managers made ­protected disclosures, citing a host of serious allegations against their boss.

Prof Nolan is asking Mr Justice Rory Mulcahy to extend orders he made in recent weeks preventing his dismissal from his director general role. His lawyers argue there was “no conceivable justification” for the move. SFI denies his claims and is contesting his application.

SFI argues that as director general, Prof Nolan “lost the dressing room, plain and simple” and the organisation was not functioning normally, the organisation’s legal team says.

The SFI board has rebuffed any suggestion it acted other than in the best interests of the organisation. This is a “highly qualified, highly experienced board of great calibre” that takes its responsibilities very seriously, it argued in court this week.

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