UCD impeachment saga goes on

UCD students' union president Loughlin Deegan is facing a second attempt to hold a referendum on his possible impeachment. An attempt earlier this year to impeach Deegan for alleged "conduct unbecoming", including claims that he failed to visit outlying faculties sufficiently often, failed on constitutional grounds.

Over 600 signatures calling for an impeachment referendum had been submitted to the union's returning officer, Ian Walsh, last February, but the calling of the referendum was later ruled illegal because insufficient notice had been given.

While the main instigators of the impeachment effort indicted that they wanted to withdraw their names, the effort to impeach was still active since over 600 signatures remained on the petition.

Those involved were given a deadline of the start of this month to get enough students to withdraw their signatures so that less than 600 would remain on the petition, but this did not happen and so the impeachment is set to go ahead on April 23rd.

Originally it had been suggested that the referendum could be held on the same day as elections for the college's Bar Committee, April 25th, but it is understood that Deegan was opposed to this on the grounds that he did not want to confuse the issue.

The cost of scheduling a separate referendum in believed to be in the region of £2,000 and there are doubts as to the likelihood of the referendum being quorate, given its timing and the fact that separate elections are being held two days later.

Deegan, who has the support of the majority of student councillors, is appealing the referendum on a number of grounds, including the claim that it is not an explicit call for removal that the wording falls outside the remit of the union's constitution.

Even if it does go ahead, those who collected the signatures have not applied to run a campaign and there are unlikely to be any posters on the issue around the campus, leading Deegan to describe the campaign as "a total waste of time and money".

. The problems with the UCD impeachment referendum are likely to provide a salutary lesson for TCD students' union, which last Friday voted in a referendum to change the procedures for impeaching officers, bringing them more in line with those in operation in UCD.

Previously, two quorate assemblies were required to impeach an officer, with two thirds of those in attendance voting in favour of impeachment.

On the same day TCD students also voted to dispense with the position of postgraduate officer in the students' union. Finally, students elected Stephen Cass to the new full time sabbatical position of deputy president publicity officer. Cass will be responsible for communicating with students on behalf of the union and for improving the union's profile among students.