THE IRISH FARMERS’ Association has appointed a new director-general one year after its former chief stepped down amid a pay scandal.
Damian McDonald, the current CEO of Horse Sport Ireland and ex-boss of youth organisation Macra Na Feirme, will take up the top post at the powerful farming lobby group.
The IFA disclosed that McDonald will be appointed on an annual salary of €185,350 per year, not including a 15% employer pension contribution, health insurance cover and a company car.
Last year, the organisation’s long-standing boss, Pat Smith, was pushed to resign after it was revealed his pay package topped out above €500,000 in 2013. In 2014, he was paid a base salary of €295,000 and a pension contribution of €150,000.
Smith stood down after then-president Eddie Downey declared the director-general’s pay package was “not sustainable and unacceptable”.
The IFA had previously not disclosed the pay packets of top officials, while many senior figures claimed they had no idea what the director-general was being paid.
McDonald, who grew up on a dairy, beef and pig farm in County Wexford, said he was looking forward to working with the IFA to “progress the organisation and the issues affecting the farming community”.
“Being from a farming background, I am very conscious of the responsibilities the position of director general of the IFA brings with it,” he said.
Income crisis
IFA president Joe Healy, who was elected to the role in April, said this year’s farm income crisis “requires strong and committed work … to improve incomes and conditions for farmers”. Healy’s salary has been disclosed as €120,000 per year, plus a company car.
The latest farm survey figures from Teagasc show average incomes were up last year, but nearly two-thirds of that money came from government sources.
In the case of sheep and cattle farms, more than 100% of the average farm’s income came from subsidies.
Meanwhile, former boss Smith has brought two cases against the IFA relating to his departure from the organisation.
One is aimed at claiming a €2 million payout for his redundancy, while the second is seeking damages over his alleged defamation at the hands of the farming group.
Written by Peter Bodkin and posted on Fora.ie
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say