Quinn widens examination of state sector chief executive pay packages

THE Government has extended its examination of the pay packages of state sector chief executives to include all state bodies. The Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, said yesterday that he had written to Ministers in charge of state bodies, asking them to ensure that the remuneration packages of their chief executives comply with the Government guidelines.

A spokesman for the Department of Finance said that state bodies encompassed both commercial companies, such as the ESB and Bord na Mona, and non-trading agencies such as IDA Ireland and Forbairt.

The remuneration of state body chief executives is set by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration. The only exception is when the chief executive is employed on a contract, as in the case of Aer Lingus, Telecom Eireann, ICC Bank and VHI.

Mr Quinn, in a written reply to a Dail question, said: "I have written to Ministers asking them to carry out an examination to ensure that the arrangements which actually apply at present in relation to the chief executives of state bodies for which they are responsible are in line with these procedures."

The announcement was made by Mr Quinn in reply to a question from Mr Desmond O'Malley TD, asking whether he was satisfied that adequate controls and procedures were in place.

Mr Quinn's request follows the decision by the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Lowry, to seek details of the pay packages of the chief executive of state companies under his control, including Aer Lingus, An Post, the ESB and CIE.

Mr Lowry took his action in the wake of the controversy surrounding the revelation of the £159,000-plus pay package received by the managing director of Bord na Mona, Dr Eddie O'Connor.

It has also emerged that Mr Lowry's Department is seeking a second report on Dr O'Connor's pay by this Friday. The second report was commissioned from accountants Price Waterhouse last week after details of an initial report on Dr O'Connor's pay caused considerable controversy.

According to the Price Waterhouse report, Dr O'Connor received expenses of £141,000 in the three years to last March. Of this, £39,000 was paid without receipts and another £14,500 was identified as "extra to business"

expenses.

Dr O'Connor's salary was capped at between £58,616 and £65,618 a year over the period under the review body guidelines. However, when expenses, pension, life assurance and other elements are taken into account, his package came to between, £150,000 and £200,000 a year.

The directors of Bord na Mona have said that they will not take any action against Dr O'Connor, until they have seen the second report. If the report is prepared by Friday, it will probably be circulated to the directors over the weekend and the board of the company could meet to consider it early next week.

One of the key areas for the board is whether or not it and the department were kept adequately informed about Dr O Connors pay package.

The chairman of the company, Mr Pat Dineen, has declined to comment on this issue, saying that he is responsible only for what happened during his term in office, which started in September. Mr Dineen ordered the first report on Dr O'Connor's remuneration shortly after taking over from the previous chairman Mr Brendan Halligan.

Dr O'Connor has maintained that all elements of his package were agreed with Mr Halligan a former Labour Party general secretary and public affairs consultant. Mr Halligan has consistently refused to comment and declined again yesterday to say whether or not he had approved Dr O'Connor's remuneration.

Three of the company's non-executive directors - Mr Sean Burke Ms Anne Counihan and Mr Gerard Callanan - are understood to have been unaware of the full extent of Dr O'Connor's remuneration and have sought a meeting with Mr Lowry to inform him of this. However, they agreed after Monday night's emergency board meeting to await the second report.

Mr Quinn told the Dail yesterday that implementation of the Gleeson guidelines was "a matter for each chairperson and each board". He went on to say that guidelines for state bodies issued by the Department of Finance in March 1992 "require each chairperson, when submitting the annual report and accounts to the relevant Minister to submit a report which, among other things, affirms that the Government guidelines on the pay of chief executives are being complied with".