Update from Board on Taskforce report

Posted on: 05 June 2025

Dear College Community,

The Board held its final meeting of the current academic year today and I wanted to share an important update with you about a report the Board received from the Taskforce on Academic and Institutional International Links and Related Matters.

This Taskforce was created following the Board-approved resolution statement after the encampment on campus last year. The Taskforce formally came into existence in October 2024 after its terms of reference had been considered and approved by the Board and the University Council.

The Taskforce was chaired by Mary Irvine (former President of the High Court) and included a broad membership, as detailed in its terms of reference. The Taskforce met on 14 occasions, it reviewed and interrogated a wide range of evidence, and sought submissions on the matters under its remit from the College community, receiving 77 submissions in total.

In submitting its final report to Board today, the Taskforce has now completed its work and, as such, I want to thank Mary Irvine and the other members of the Taskforce who contributed significant time and expertise over the past year to consider these important issues so thoroughly.

There were a number of recommendations made for the Board and relevant College committees to consider. The Board carefully considered the report and the recommendations made and, noting some structural concerns, it agreed to send this report now for further consideration to relevant College committees with a particular focus on governance, in line with the terms of the resolution statement last year.

Following this step, the Board envisages the report returning to Board later this year for its final consideration.

In the interim, based on the strength of the evidence shared, and in line with the principles and procedures developed by the Taskforce, the Board has accepted the recommendations set out in the report regarding institutional links with the State of Israel, Israeli universities and companies headquartered in Israel. These will be enacted for the duration of the ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law. This will be kept under review by the Board.

The Taskforce’s recommendations with respect to Israel, as approved by Board, are as follows:

Investments: The Taskforce notes that College has already divested from Israeli companies on the UN Blacklist. Following a detailed consideration of the relevant facts, and for the reasons detailed in this report, the Taskforce recommends that College fully divest from all companies headquartered in Israel.

Suppliers: The Taskforce notes that College has no current supply contracts with Israeli companies. Insofar as the future is concerned, for the reasons detailed in this report the Taskforce recommends that College enter into no future supply contracts with Israeli firms.

Commercial Relationships: The Taskforce accepts that College’s existing Intellectual Property-related contracts are acceptable as they are not collaborative contracts. Insofar as the future is concerned, for the reasons detailed in this report the Taskforce recommends that College enter into no new commercial relationships with Israeli entities.

Academic Ties: College has two current Erasmus+ exchange agreements with Israeli universities. Participation in these programmes has been on an inbound basis only since September 2023. For the reasons detailed in this report the Taskforce recommends that College enter into no further mobility agreements with Israeli universities.

Research Collaborations: College is engaged in a number of EU-funded research consortia which include Israeli partners. There is no evidence to associate any of these with breaches of international humanitarian law or human rights violations. The Taskforce accepts that College cannot readily extract itself from these agreements. However, for the reasons detailed in this report, the Taskforce recommends that College should not submit for approval or agree to participate in any new institutional research agreements involving Israeli participation. Furthermore, College should seek to align itself with like-minded universities and bodies in an effort to influence EU policy concerning Israel’s participation in such collaborations.

For any queries in relation to this matter, please email sdean@tcd.ie.

Kind regards

Paul Farrell,

Chairperson

Board, Trinity College Dublin

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