IFA stays silent on Eddie Downey comments

The IFA was last night remaining tight-lipped after its former president claimed he had been “thrown under the bus” and his position “misrepresented” in the striking of a controversial severance deal with the organisation’s former general secretary, Pat Smith.

Eddie Downey, who resigned his post as president last week, took to the airwaves to put forward his side of the story, but in doing so, appeared to contradict the IFA’s version of the events which led to his departure.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Downey, who was two years into his presidency when he stepped down, said he had not known the exact pay scale of Mr Smith, even though he had refused to sign off on a review of it late last year and had asked former IFA chief economist, Con Lucey, back into the fold to review elements of the pay structure within the country’s largest farming organisation.

#VIDEO: Ex-IFA boss Eddie Downey: I’ve been thrown under the bus https://t.co/Qx9TjZFKR8 (GM) pic.twitter.com/tg7LgTkTm9

— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) December 1, 2015

He also said he acted on advice when he struck the controversial €2m severance package with Mr Smith which saw the secretary general step down, and he also said his position was “misrepresented” at last week’s marathon meeting of national members, during which he resigned despite not being present.

“The organisation had let me down, there was misrepresentation of facts, there was a suggestion I had acted completely on my own — I did not, I had advice, I had legal advice, I had financial advice,” Mr Downey said.

He said he did not want to prejudice any possible future legal hearing on the issue of the severance deal, and stressed that he could not disclose what was said at the meeting between him and Mr Smith.

He also said there was “prior and subsequent agreement” on the package but did not provide names.

He added that he believed it was the best deal that could be done at the time and others had agreed with that view.

While he rejected the “insinuation” that he acted alone in striking the deal, he said no-one else should resign from the IFA, adding: “I think there is enough blood on the floor here.”

He said his own pay package on becoming president had been “a shock” but said ultimately: “I know I did the right thing, I know I have done nothing wrong here.”

Last night, the IFA said they would not be providing any comment on what Mr Downey had said in the interview.

Meanwhile, IFA members have been invited to make submissions to the review of the structures in the association around corporate governance and related matters, including issues around remuneration.

On its website, the IFA published the terms of reference of the review, which is being conducted by its former chief economist, Con Lucey. They include: The implementation of recommendations around remuneration and other observations in the two letters of August 2014 to the president; examination of all aspects of the remuneration package of Pat Smith from 2009 to 2015; and a review of all aspects of remuneration of the president and deputy president for the same period.