IFA to pick president as fallout from payments controversy continues

After the most tumultuous week in its history, the Irish Farmers’ Association will next week begin the process of picking a new president, as the fallout from the controversy over payments continues.

Yesterday, the IFA reiterated its outright rejection of claims from its former secretary general, Pat Smith, that a severance deal agreed with him by ex-president Eddie Downey was binding, and that half of it — €1m — should be donated to charity.

In a statement issued on Thursday via his solicitors, Mr Smith said Mr Downey’s resignation following the revelation over the severance deal was “a huge loss” and said the “fair” severance deal represented approximately six weeks’ redundancy pay for each year worked for the IFA and fulfilled on legal commitments he and other staff have in relation to pension shortfalls following the closure of the defined benefit scheme.

Pat Smith and Eddie Downey

He said the IFA should “stand good to its deal” and split the initial €1m payment between Self Help Africa and the St Vincent de Paul.

In response, the IFA said it “disowned” the package and described Mr Smith’s charity donation suggestion as “total spin”.

Speaking last night, acting-IFA president Tim O’Leary said he understood the IFA simply had to withhold payment of the money, and that it would be up to Mr Smith — who suggested his predecessor, Michael Berkery, may have also been on a high salary — to go to court to claim it.

Clarifying the circumstances of Mr Smith’s exit from the IFA, Mr O’Leary said: “He was encouraged to step down, which is effectively firing him.”

Mr O’Leary said the IFA’s rules and privileges committee will meet early next week to draw up a timeframe for the election of the next president, with the Corkman currently the only declared candidate.

Motions seeking his removal were also heard at this week’s national meeting but Mr O’Leary said: “I have nothing to fear. I am quite confident in what I have done.”

Tim O’Leary

He said it was “too soon” to gather information on the number of people who have left the IFA over the controversy but added: “A lot of people are threatening to do it but when they sit down and think about it, at the end of day Irish farmers need a strong, unified IFA.”

He would not be drawn on any role Mr Downey’s predecessor, John Bryan, may have had in the salary controversy, given Mr Smith’s wages increased dramatically during Mr Bryan’s tenure. Mr O’Leary said Mr Bryan was a private citizen and had done the IFA “great service”.

Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said he was shocked when he learned of Mr Smith’s salary, which he said was at an inappropriate level. Mr Coveney said he learned of the salary scale in the media but had deliberately stayed out of it as it was not his place to tell the IFA what it should be doing.

Describing the IFA packages as “eye watering”, Tánaiste Joan Burton said she would like to see all representative organisations disclose the salaries of senior staff.

Ms Burton said: “I think for a lot of people, the salaries involved and the benefits and packages, which has become the term, in relation to the IFA, have been truly eye watering. I think where you either have a voluntary organisation or a publically- funded organisation, that in fact, salaries and remuneration should be subject to disclosure.

“There are well tried and actually proven ways of doing that, particularly the salaries of the people at the very top of the organisation.”