Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan approved the retirement deal for the Bank of Ireland chief executive Richie Boucher that led to his now-abandoned €1.5 million pension top-up.
The secretary general of the Department of Finance, Kevin Cardiff, confirmed yesterday to Labour TD Róisín Shortall that Mr Lenihan approved both Mr Boucher’s €623,000 salary and the provision that he could retire at age 55.
The agreement led to the payment of €1.5 million into the bank’s pension fund. When this was disclosed last week, it led to a controversy that peaked on Wednesday when Mr Boucher (51) announced he would not be retiring at 55. The bank has said the top-up payment will be repaid and Mr Boucher will retire at 60.
Earlier this week, Ms Shortall put down a Dáil question asking Mr Lenihan if he approved the retirement deal and if he established the cost before doing so.
In reply, Mr Lenihan referred to and welcomed Mr Boucher’s statement. Ms Shortall complained to Mr Cardiff that her question had not been answered and he responded yesterday.
“The position is that the Minister for Finance was approached by the Bank of Ireland in relation to the pay of Mr Boucher and approved a pay rate that was considerably below his salary in his previous position. The Bank of Ireland also indicated that the intention was that Mr Boucher, in line with previous practice in relation to the CEO position, would be able to retire at age 55. The calculation of the actuarial costs of the related pension benefits was a matter for the relevant pension funds actuaries and trustees, not the Minister.”
Last weekend Mr Lenihan said he had no power to intervene in the matter.