THE Minister for Energy, Mr Lowry, has not closed the door on a financial settlement with the suspended managing director of Bord na M6na, Dr Eddie O'Connor.
Mr Lowry yesterday met the company chairman, Mr Pat Dineen, and Bord na Mona chief operations officer, Mr Paddy Hughes, who has been appointed to replace Dr O'Connor during the suspension period.
After that meeting, the Minister confirmed that a "third party, an individual, not a consultancy firm" would be invited to prepare a report as soon as possible for him. Refusing to explain the subject matter of such a report, he said the person would be appointed shortly to conduct a "review procedure".
It is understood that the individual - who is expected to be a senior accountant - will examine again Dr O'Connor's remuneration package. He or she will operate in a quasi-judicial capacity and hear representations from senior counsel.
When asked repeatedly by journalists about the possibility of a financial deal with Dr O'Connor, the Minister said these matters would be "confidential" to him and the Government.
Asked if he was "still open" to the idea of a negotiated settlement with Dr O'Connor, Mr Lowry replied that the board of Bord na Mona had had protracted discussions on the issue. The principal reason the board debated the matter to such an extent was because it wanted to ensure "it was assessed in an objective, fair and impartial way and that every opportunity was given to Dr O'Connor to put forward his point of view and to make whatever observations and requests that he had".
The Minister refused to comment on Dr O'Connor's claim that no real negotiations had taken place. Sources close to Dr O'Connor continued to insist yesterday that he had been made no settlement offer.
Meanwhile, Mr Lowry regretted the fact that "leaks" had taken place and that so much discussion, that did not serve any useful purpose, was conducted in public.
Denying Opposition and union claims that there was a "hidden agenda" to oust Dr O'Connor or to shift the company's focus away from his expansionist programme, Mr Lowry said it was now of paramount importance that Bord na Mona return to "normal activity".
"The Government are concerned to ensure that the company now refocuses attention on its business and that it gets on with the day to day activity of running the company", he said.
Prior to meeting the Minister, Mr Dineen and Mr Hughes had discussions with senior management in Bord na Mona and had subsequently assured the Minister that they had "the full support and co-operation of all involved in carrying out their daily functions".
"I was also anxious to reassure the company executives that the Government is in full and total support of Bord na Mona and its activities. Comments have been passed to the effect that the Government is not supportive of Bord na Mona," the Minister said.
He had also assured the executives that the Government was proceeding with plans for Europeat, the new peat power station in the midlands. Rejecting suggestions that the Europeat project would be delayed because of the recent difficulties, Mr Lowry said that the company's activities were crucial to the economic well-being of the region.
Meanwhile, since Mr Dineen's appointment as chairman, there have been reductions of £2 million in the company's cost base.
Describing the Government's decision to suspend Dr O'Connor on full pay as "bewildering", Fianna Fail's energy spokesman, Mr Seamus Brennan, said the outcome of Tuesday night's Cabinet meeting had been "the complete opposite of what was promised by Minister Lowry".
"Rather than knocking heads together and working out a deal that would have got Bord na Mona back to business, the State is now going down a legal route that is likely to be lengthy and expensive," Mr Brennan added.
The taxpayer could end up facing a bill of 10 or 15 times the £66,000 in question, he said.
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