The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) holds its AGM today (Friday) at the South Court Hotel in Limerick. The morning will session of the meeting will be given over to housekeeping while in the afternoon president John Comer, Minister Simon Coveney and EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan will all address the assembled ICSMA delegates.

While much of the meeting is likely to be given over to current milk price being paid to dairy farmers, president John Comer admitted he expected corporate governance, oversight and transparency to feature at the ICMSA AGM on Friday.

Speaking on Morning Ireland, Comer said the ICMSA had presented audited accounts to members for a decade or more as members certainly had a right to know what leadership was doing with their funds.

Comer said the accounts do not specifically refer to individual salaries but that the total wage bill for the ICMSA’s 11 staff for 2014 was just over €577,800, including wages, pensions and subscriptions. He added that this reflects reason and appropriate pay levels currently available for like for like position within the industry.

When asked about his own pay packet, Comer said he receives an allowance to cover expenses and the hire of a farm manager that’s below €50,000 per year.

He also told Morning Ireland that the highest salary earned in the ICMSA was by the general secretary John Enright. He said he would not reveal the salary for personal reasons but could assure members it was below €100,000.

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