Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) briefly imposed a limit on members of one motion and one discussion item per council session, before backtracking yesterday.
In an email sent to members of TCDSU council on Wednesday, Secretary to Council Ewan Tushkanov said that “everyone is now provisionally limited to submitting 1 discussion item and 1 motion [per council]”.
The decision was made since “we did not cover every item on the agenda of the last council … in the interests of getting through our current backlog and to reduce the previously gargantuan workload that council admin should not experience”.
He added that an “overall limit” would be set at five discussion items and three to five new motions.
In a subsequent email, sent yesterday, Tushkanov backtracked, saying the limit was “lifted” and suggested that motions that could not be covered in the next council would be discussed at an additional “extraordinary council after the exam period”.
He said: “We will make our best effort to accommodate for 1 discussion item and 1 motion at this council at the minimum per person, however we may not include submissions beyond that at this council in the interest of diversity in speakers at council and an agenda that we will have a chance at completing in one sitting.”
He said the limitations were constitutional and would be subject to re-evaluation.
“Limitations on submissions will probably exist in the future to better ensure that we do not have an entire council worth of a backlog in future.”
In an email statement to The University Times, Tushkanov said that the Electoral Commission, “who are in charge of running Council, are the body responsible for making interpretations of the constitution. This decision was made by them to ensure the smooth running of council so that all voices may be heard equally”.
Chapter 4.3 of the TCDSU constitution, which covers standing orders of ordinary meetings of council, makes no reference to limiting the number of discussion items or motions that a member may bring. Additionally, the section outlines the requirements a member must fulfill in order to submit a discussion item or motion, none of which include reference to the number a member has brought.
