Following a vote by group delegates at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in Dublin, Scouting Ireland has seen two of its directors, Jacques Kinane and Donnachadha Reynolds, ousted from its management board. The two men had previously alleged that the board’s internal disputes were a threat to the standards of child safety within the youth organisation.
Their removal came as welcome news to the Scouting Ireland board, according to a public statement they released. During the EGM at Glasnevin’s Helix conference centre, the verdict was received, which now allows the board to fill the vacant positions with two newly co-opted directors from its membership. The board is eager to proceed with its plans to assist Scouting groups and the young Irish community.
Kinane and Reynolds stated that their expulsion constitutes an attempt to mute their whistleblowing. In reacting to the vote’s outcome, both men stated their disappointment and claimed the board had deceived the organisation’s members at the EGM. They were unable to talk about their perceptions of illicit conduct being approved and instigated at the board level due to ongoing enquiries by the Charities Regulator and Corporate Enforcement Authority.
The Scouting Ireland board had assured its members prior to the EGM that whilst it was complying with inquiries from its regulators, it was not subject to an investigation. Meanwhile, the ejected directors look forward to their vindication and the opportunity to share their side of the story in due time, relying on the regulatory systems until then.
Preceding the EGM, Scouting Ireland had declared that its board always functions within the realms of good corporate governance and legal compliance. The decision to eject Kinane and Reynolds from the board comes in the aftermath of considerable turmoil within the youth-focused organisation.
In a letter dispatched to Scouting Ireland board members last November, and subsequently shared with the Department of Children officials, two gentlemen alleged that due to internal discord among the directors, the youth organisation’s child protection standards were at risk.
They further highlighted their concerns regarding the membership status of a volunteer who was later found guilty of child abuse, asserting that these concerns were inadequately addressed. There were also reservations about approving the organisation’s financial statements, stemming from apprehension that over 50 High Court trials pursued by abuse victims for reparations could potentially lead to a total “annihilation”.
Scouting Ireland dismissed the assertions from the document as baseless, suggesting they were designed to impede the forward-moving activities of the organisation and tarnish its standing. The organisation vehemently refuted the claim that a safety issue was not properly investigated.
In a letter dated February 2nd to the board, Mr Reynolds and Mr Kinane claimed to have been the targets of “retaliatory measures” after voicing their concerns as whistleblowers. Mr Reynolds has been suspended from the organisation since the previous year’s midpoint after a confrontation with Joe Marken, Scouting Ireland’s acting chief executive, at a board meeting in June.