DIRECTORS of Bord na Mona are to meet this evening amid growing concern about a serious rift in the board over revelations about the remuneration of chief executive, Dr Eddie O'Connor.
This follows a call from the company's four worker directors for an emergency meeting of the board.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Oireachtas joint committee on semi-state bodies, Mr Liam Kavanagh, wants to examine the remuneration packages of the chief executives of 27 semi state companies following the revelations about the package of the Bord na Mona chief executive.
Dr O'Connor's annual remuneration package was worth £150,000 to £200,000 over the past three years even though his basic annual salary ranged from £58,616 to £65,618 over the period under the Gleeson guidelines. This basic salary was boosted by pension contributions, life assurance, expenses and other payments.
It emerged at a meeting of the company board last Thursday that directors did not know the details of Dr O'Connor's package. At the meeting, the directors ordered a new report to examine Dr O'Connor's remuneration over the nine years he has been chief executive of the State owned company.
Dr O'Connor received £141,000 in expenses in the three years to last March. Some £39,000 of these expenses was paid without receipts having to be produced and £14,500 was identified by consultants appointed by the chairman to examine the chief executive's package as extra to business expenses".
Payments by Bord na Mona to Dr O'Connor included £13,353 for flights - £8,252 was deemed to be business related and £5,101 was deemed to be part of his benefit package; £2,400 for suits which was charged to the company in lieu of medical insurance payments to which he was entitled; an estimated payment of £4,000 for a car for Dr O'Connor's wife for an 18 month period starting in 1990.
Tonight's board meeting follows calls by the four worker directors of Bord na Mona on the company at the weekend to convene an emergency meeting of the board "to review developments which have taken place since the board meeting on Thursday 25th April".
Worker directors publicly criticised the chairman Mr Pat Dineen at the weekend. In a statement the four directors accused Mr Dineen of breaking an agreement made at that meeting to refrain from making any public comment.
"We are also concerned that notwithstanding a decision agreed at the last board meeting not to make any further public statement beyond that issued on the April 25th, pending the next board meeting, the chairman Mr Dineen broke that agreement and proceeded to issue a statement which was published in the press on Saturday April 27th."
The four worker directors - Mr Mark Nugent, Mr Pat Walsh, Mr Pat McEvoy and Mr PJ Minogue - expressed concern that three of their fellow board members have sought a meeting with the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Lowry.
In their statement the four directors said they were "particularly concerned" that "certain members of the board have taken it upon themselves to seek a meeting with the Minister for Transport Energy and Communications, Mr Lowry, without having first discussed the purpose in doing so with their colleagues on the board".
If a meeting with the minister is required, the statement said, it should be agreed in accordance with proper board procedure.
On Friday, Mr Dineen told The Irish Times that some Bord na Mona directors "who were appalled at revelations of payments to the chief executive" at the Thursday board meeting had asked him to arrange an urgent meeting with Mr Lowry. These directors wanted to "explain that they had no knowledge of the payments", be said.
Bord na Mona directors contacted last night were reluctant to comment on the situation. "I left the last meeting under a pledge not to talk to anyone," Mr James Coyle said. "We agreed at the last meeting not to talk to the press," Ms Anne Counihan said.
Ms Counihan, Mr Sean Burke and Ms Carmel Foley are understood to be the three directors who have sought a meeting with Mr Lowry.
