Background

On 27 May 2024, the Board of Science Foundation Ireland (“SFI”) terminated Mr. Nolan’s employment as Director General of SFI. In the months preceding this decision, there had been an investigation into five protected disclosures from senior members of staff alleging misconduct, in particular bullying, against Mr. Nolan. The investigator concluded that there had been no wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Nolan and the allegations of bullying were not made out, though there were instances of poor management or communication. For two of the protected disclosures, the investigator concluded “that the behaviour was at the upper end of the spectrum of inappropriate behaviour, just below bullying”. Arising from this, SFI decided to conduct a disciplinary