BORD na Mona managing director, Dr Eddie O'Connor is expected to face some rigorous questioning when the board of the semi state company meets in Dublin this morning.
The board, which is meeting for the fifth time to discuss two reports by auditors Price Waterhouse, is said to be still very unhappy with several facets of Dr O'Connor's remuneration package since he was appointed in 1987.
The board will be asking him to explain how his remuneration package complies with the terms of his appointment and with Government directives issued on pay.
Following the meeting, the board may make a recommendation to Mr Lowry, the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications that Dr O'Connor's remuneration package has breached Government guidelines on pay for semi state executives. It may also recommend the Minister take action on the issue. However, it is still unclear what course of action the board may opt for.
A vote of no confidence or any other resolution which may affect Dr O'Connor's future has not been tabled. The board is also due to hold its regular monthly meeting on Thursday and it is understood that no specific resolutions have been tabled for this meeting either.
Under current guidelines, drawn up for State bodies, chairmen of semi state companies are obliged to report to the relevant Ministers on any matters not within the guidelines laid down by Government. However, the board is likely to point out that it too has duties under the Turf Development Act (1990).
This Act 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".
The board is said to be unhappy with several aspects of Dr O'Connor's package, including his unreceipted expenses, which amounted to £66,000 over nine years. It may also quiz the managing director about expenses of £53,000 he claimed, which he has acknowledged were for his personal benefit.
Dr O'Connor has maintained that his package was, agreed by previous chairman Mr Brendan Halligan, who was mandated by a former board to agree it in confidence.
Mr Halligan read a prepared statement to last Thursday's board meeting and answered questions afterwards. One board source said he consulted his prepared statement several times when answering queries.
It was confirmed last week that Mr Halligan told various Ministers for Energy from 1993-1995 that Government guidelines were being complied with.
Dr O'Connor has also maintained that the cost of his package is nothing like the £1.9 million including pensions and expenses. He has said that only £750,000 was of benefit to him personally.
Relations between Dr O'Connor and current chairman Mr Pat Dineen - who instigated a Price Waterhouse Report into Dr O'Connor's remuneration I have become very strained.
Dr O'Connor has complained that he is being subjected to "death by a thousand cuts" and accusations have flown about who leaked information to whom. Mr Dineen has argued that the board has "bent over backwards" to be fair to Dr O'Connor.
