Central players stay off stage as drama unfolds

AS the Bord na Mona board made its final deliberations on the evidence presented to them about Dr Eddie O'Connor's remuneration package, neither of the central players were present. However, it appeared that the remaining directors were preparing to call the Minister for Energy, Mr Lowry, centre stage.

Dr O'Connor left the meeting just before nine o'clock saying he was going for a "cup of tea". The chairman, Mr Pat Dineen, is also understood to have left the meeting to let the rest of the directors, meeting for the sixth time on the issue, discuss what to do about the long running controversy.

Following legal correspondence between Dr O'Connor's solicitors and the board's, the chairman, Mr Dineen, is understood to have excluded himself from the final deliberations late last night. Dr O'Connor is believed to have questioned Mr Dineen's handling of the crisis and the result was that the chairman did not chair any of the meeting and did not take part in the final deliberations of his colleagues on the 10 month controversy.

Earlier, the directors had heard a lengthy defence from Dr O'Connor of his remuneration package. He presented a 56 page document to each of the directors, which denied that he had done anything wrong in relation to his remuneration.

Dr O'Connor pointed out that his package had been agreed with the former chairman, Mr Brendan Halligan. He has said that £66,000 in unvouched expenses, the focus of much of the board's questioning, was a budget agreed with Mr Halligan to allow Dr O'Connor to promote the company and its interests.

The board asked Dr O'Connor a series of questions referring to whether his package breached Government guidelines, tax law and the terms of his Bord na Mona contract. However, Dr O'Connor is understood to have argued that he had a valid agreement with Mr Halligan.

The first 16 pages of Dr O'Connor's document dealt with his record with the group, which has now moved into profitability.

Dr O'Connor also made a strong case to the board about the information which has appeared in the media about his remuneration package. He told his fellow directors that the confidentiality of the boardroom had been breached, particularly pointing to the leaking of the final draft report of the Price Waterhouse review of his remuneration, package.

The meeting started at 2 p.m. in the Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin and broke for the first time at 4.15 p.m., after Dr O'Connor had delivered his statement.

The meeting reconvened after 5 p.m. but after less than four hours of discussion Dr O'Connor and Mr Dineen left the meeting. Mr Mark Nugent, a worker director and the longest serving remaining member of the board was in the chair. The board was then left to consider whether Dr O'Connor's package breached Government guidelines and the terms of his contract and if so what to report to the Minister.

Indicating that the directors were heading for their final decision, the Price Waterhouse accountants who conducted the review of Dr O'Connor's package left, saying their work was complete. Having heard the accountant's version of events and listened to Dr O'Connor and Mr Dineen, the directors only option appeared to be to kick the issue firmly into the political arena.