BORD na Mona managing director Dr Eddie O'Connor has indicated that he will now attend next Monday's crucial board meeting at which his future with the company may be decided.
In a statement issued yesterday he accused the chairman of the company, Mr Pat Dineen, of acting in a manner he found "off putting land offensive". Mr Dineen had written to Dr O'Connor twice on Thursday demanding that he "respond in writing confirming my agreement to attend", Dr O'Connor said.
He had indicated on Thursday that he could not attend the meeting, citing a prior engagement.
"If Mr Dineen had had the courtesy to give me 24 hours to rearrange my schedule on Monday, I would have been advising him of that privately this morning," he said.
"The fable of Eddie O'Connor becomes ever more sensational. The public is now being told that this man, who they have been deliberately and dishonestly encouraged to believe earned £2 million over nine years, was somehow going to duck out of a meeting to consider his position. Well, he is not."
Mr Dineen issued his own statement yesterday, saying that he welcomed "the fact that Dr Eddie O'Connor will now attend the board meeting". Mr Dineen hopes to bring to an end the eight week old controversy over Dr O'Connor's pay package.
The directors of the company have met on four occasions over the last eight weeks to discuss two reports by accountants Price Waterhouse on Dr O'Connor's pay package.
The final report concluded that Dr O'Connor's total package, including salary, bonus, pension and expenses, came to £1.9 million. Dr O'Connor has queried the basis on which the report was compiled, claiming that the inclusion of his business expenses exaggerated the size of his package. He also pointed out that it included pension provisions of almost £600,000.
Dr O'Connor will be asked on Monday to explain certain elements of his package which appear to breach Government guidelines. If the board is not satisfied with his explanation, it may inform the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications that it now feels Dr O'Connor's position is untenable.
Dr O'Connor can only be removed by the Minister as he is employed directly by the Department.
In particular, Dr O'Connor will be asked about his unreceipted expenses, which come to £66,000 over the nine years he has been managing director.
The money was paid to him by cheques drawn in favour of a bank, cashed at the bank and the cash in turn paid to Dr O'Connor.
The directors may also seek further information on expenses of £53,000 claimed by Dr O'Connor, which he has now acknowledged were for his personal benefit.
Dr O'Connor has maintained that all elements of his package were agreed with Mr Dineen's predecessor, Mr Brendan Halligan, and that this agreement had been confidential. Last Wednesday, Mr Halligan met the board to discuss his arrangement with Dr O'Connor.
"He spent two hours giving his version of events. Following that meeting, Mr Dineen issued a statement which merely referenced Mr Halligan's attendance. Why did Mr Dineen not address what Mr Halligan told the board?" asked Dr O'Connor.
Alter the Wednesday meeting, Mr Dineen issued a statement saying that the board was still very unhappy with several facets of the remuneration package.
The Turf Development Act 1990, which is the governing legislation for Bord na Mona, states that, in determining the remuneration or allowances for expenses to be paid to its officer or servants, the board must have regard to Government guidelines and policy.
