Former opposition leader and minister for finance Alan Dukes has complained about "discourteous" treatment by the board of the Institute of European Affairs following its decision that his term of office as director general should not be extended again.
Mr Dukes was initially appointed to head the Dublin-based think-tank for a three-year term at the start of 2003. His contract was extended twice and, when he leaves at the end of this month, he will have spent a total of five years in the post.
In an e-mail to members of the institute's executive committee, sent on Tuesday, Mr Dukes says the board informed him that it "wished to uphold the principle that the post of director general should be for a limited period of time, ideally for three years".
Mr Dukes comments: "In the institute's current circumstances and in view of the development path now open to it, I would consider a three-year limit on the director general's remit to be entirely inappropriate, save in exceptional circumstances."
He continues: "The board is, of course, entitled to make whatever decision it thinks fit, but I have informed its members that I found the manner of its decision and of its communication to me to be discourteous. It is a matter of some sadness to me that I part with the board on less than friendly terms."
Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, the institute's chairman, Brendan Halligan, said the job was a temporary one and the departure of Mr Dukes was no reflection on his performance. "Not at all, absolutely not," Mr Halligan said. "He's done a fantastic job."
It is understood, however, that Mr Halligan disagreed with Mr Dukes over Mr Dukes's desire to stay longer with a view to pursuing plans for developing the institute's work. The decision not to grant a further extension of Mr Dukes's contract was taken at a board meeting held on December 7th.
Mr Dukes is not a member of the board. The director general's post is a part-time, paid position. Mr Dukes is also a consultant on public affairs with Wilson Hartnell Public Relations.
Based in Europe House on Dublin's North Great George's Street, the institute describes itself as "a policy research think-tank and forum," whose role includes providing members with "early warning of EU policy developments and in-depth analysis of their implications for Ireland and Europe".
The institute has hosted numerous meetings and discussions over the years with key European policy-makers and other public figures, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev; former UN weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix; former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer, former British Labour leader Lord Kinnock and US radical intellectual Prof Noam Chomsky.
Mr Halligan is a former general secretary of the Labour Party. Mr Dukes, who lost his Dáil seat in the 2002 general election, was opposition leader from 1987 to 1990. He has held the ministerial portfolios of agriculture, finance, justice and transport. He is perhaps best known for the "Tallaght Strategy", whereby Fine Gael gave conditional support to the economic policies of the Fianna Fáil minority government from 1987 to 1989.
