The emergency meeting of the IFA executive council – during which Eddie Downey tendered his resignation as president – ran until 4.30am on Thursday morning and unanimously backed three steps aimed at moving the crisis situation forward.
These were the election of a new president, ratification of the review to be conducted by Con Lucey and a challenge to any severance package for the former general secretary Pat Smith.
Listen to a discussion of the latest developments in our podcast below:
Deputy president Tim O’Leary chaired the meeting and said afterwards that there had been a full discussion of all the issues and resolutions.
Motions from a number of county executives calling for further resignations of senior officers were discussed at length but have been held over until the next meeting of the executive council. There was lengthy debate on whether the motions could be put to a vote, but the association’s constitution requires that motions be submitted at least 21 days in advance of the executive council considering them.
Spring election
This means that – as of now – the only election required is for the position of president. No date has been set for this election. Acting president Tim O’Leary has asked the association’s rules committee to meet immediately to give guidance on when the election should be held. A date in March or April was the general expectation last night among delegates. An earlier date is unlikely given the proximity of the Christmas period.
Tim O’Leary said that former IFA chief economist Con Lucey has agreed to conduct a thorough review of the structures in the association around corporate governance and related matters, including issues around remuneration.
“He will report to the executive council on Tuesday 15 December. The executive council unanimously welcomed Con Lucey’s involvement as an important step forward in rebuilding the trust of farmers,” he said.
The executive council decided unanimously to fully defend the association and use all legal avenues to challenge any severance package of the former general secretary Pat Smith.
Read more
Full coverage: Turmoil at the IFA
The emergency meeting of the IFA executive council – during which Eddie Downey tendered his resignation as president – ran until 4.30am on Thursday morning and unanimously backed three steps aimed at moving the crisis situation forward.
These were the election of a new president, ratification of the review to be conducted by Con Lucey and a challenge to any severance package for the former general secretary Pat Smith.
Listen to a discussion of the latest developments in our podcast below:
Deputy president Tim O’Leary chaired the meeting and said afterwards that there had been a full discussion of all the issues and resolutions.
Motions from a number of county executives calling for further resignations of senior officers were discussed at length but have been held over until the next meeting of the executive council. There was lengthy debate on whether the motions could be put to a vote, but the association’s constitution requires that motions be submitted at least 21 days in advance of the executive council considering them.
Spring election
This means that – as of now – the only election required is for the position of president. No date has been set for this election. Acting president Tim O’Leary has asked the association’s rules committee to meet immediately to give guidance on when the election should be held. A date in March or April was the general expectation last night among delegates. An earlier date is unlikely given the proximity of the Christmas period.
Tim O’Leary said that former IFA chief economist Con Lucey has agreed to conduct a thorough review of the structures in the association around corporate governance and related matters, including issues around remuneration.
“He will report to the executive council on Tuesday 15 December. The executive council unanimously welcomed Con Lucey’s involvement as an important step forward in rebuilding the trust of farmers,” he said.
The executive council decided unanimously to fully defend the association and use all legal avenues to challenge any severance package of the former general secretary Pat Smith.
Read more
Full coverage: Turmoil at the IFA
SHARING OPTIONS