Elections held for Dairygold board
The contest arose after nine of the 10 directors resigned following the passing of a vote of no confidence in the board at the co-op’s annual general meeting.
Six regional committees comprising 209 members voted in the elections, which involved 24 candidates.
Eight of the 10 members of the outgoing board sought re-election.
One director, Terence O’Donnell (Mitchelstown), did not resign as he had only been elected last December.
The new board is expected to meet tomorrow and elect a chairman to succeed Denis Cronin who was not seeking re-election to the board.
William Blake, one of the eight outgoing members, was returned unopposed in last night’s elections for the Tipperary region.
Candidates in the other regions included the former Food Minister Ned O’Keeffe TD, Liam Foley, a former chairman of the IFA national dairy committee and Claire O’Keeffe-O’Connell, the only female contender.
Dairygold is also setting up a Rules Consultative Committee following a decision at the annual general meeting.
It will be comprised of 18 members of the society, with three members elected by each of the co-op’s six regions.
Of the three members elected by each region, two will be members of the regional committee and one an ordinary member of the society.
The functions of the committee will be to make recommendations in regard to rule changes which would be considered appropriate in the context of the changing business environment now facing the society and its membership.
Written submissions are also being sought from the society’s membership before August 15 in regard to issues which they feel should be addressed during the review process.
The overall aim is to have the process completed, with a set of recommendations on rule changes, circulated for consideration at the next annual general meeting.
