Mr. John Horgan:

As chairperson designate of Bord na Móna, I am pleased to respond to the request of this distinguished committee to make a short initial presentation outlining my background and vision for the company.

Having been educated in Dublin at St. Mary's College, Rathmines, and UCD in the 1960s, I studied at Warwick University, Coventry, where I was awarded an MA in industrial relations. I subsequently worked in London for the National Board for Prices and Incomes and the Pay Board, both instruments of government policy, and for a period in the Department of Business Studies at Queens University, Belfast. In 1974 I took up a position as a socio-economist in the Department of Labour in Dublin, working closely as an adviser to the then Minster, Mr. Michael O'Leary, from whom I learned a great deal about commitment and integrity in public life. In 1977 I was appointed deputy chairman of the Labour Court and I became chairman in 1984. In 1989 I went to work for the aircraft leasing company GPA in Shannon as part of a team tasked by Dr. Tony Ryan with using the considerable financial and reputational resources of GPA to bring investment and jobs to the Shannon region. I was a member of the three-person group referred to at the time as the troika, comprising representatives of GPA, Lufthansa and SwissAir, that established the aircraft maintenance facility, Shannon Aerospace, employing 1,000 people. Subsequently I worked in senior HR positions in Analog Devices in Limerick and Warner Lambert and Pfizer in Cork. Since 2001 have worked on my own behalf as an independent human resources consultant to many employees and employers in the public and private sectors. I am satisfied that none of these assignments presents a conflict of interest in taking on the role as chairman of Bord na Móna.

I have been a member of the board of Bord na Móna since April this year and have thus had an opportunity to form a preliminary opinion of and vision for the company. Bord na Móna has a long and honourable history and I am very conscious of its great traditions and achievements. I pay tribute to the many thousands of women and men who over 76 years have made Bord na Móna such a highly respected company which has been fortunate in having had many inspirational leaders throughout its history. I pay tribute especially to the outgoing chairman, Mr. Fergus McArdle, who has successfully headed the company in recent years with great skill and dedication. Under his guidance, the managing director, Mr. Gabriel D'Arcy, has skilfully built a senior management team of exceptional individuals who, I am certain, have the capacity to lead the company to continued success in the years immediately ahead.

The company, however, is at a crossroads. This year will see it having its highest ever turnover and engage in its largest single investment in wind farms at Mount Lucas and Bruckana, but it faces a crisis owing to the poor peat harvest. The weather this summer was the worst ever for peat harvesting and it is now expected that only 40% of the forecast production will be achieved. Despite some diversification, peat is still the basis on which much of the business is built and this will have severe implications not just for this year but for three or four years into the future as the full effect of the reduction in stocks is felt.

Bord na Móna is now a complex organisation of many parts and a challenge for me as chairman of the board, operating within the code of practice for the governance of State bodies, will be to ensure the board is clear about its mandate and from this to identify the various functions, roles and responsibilities entailed in the delivery of that mandate. The board will be collectively responsible for promoting the success of the company by leading and directing its activities. It will provide strategic guidance and monitor the activities and effectiveness of management. It will be an important part of my role to ensure all board members act on a fully informed basis, in good faith, with due diligence and care, and in the best interests of the company, subject to the objectives set by the Government.

Bord na Móna has long recognised the need to diversify its activities in order to secure a sustainable future. It has a unique mix of assets, experience and innovation which will enable it to provide products and services which will assist in meeting Ireland's need for secure sustainable energy, while minimising environmental impact. The company is committed to achieving its objectives in a way that is fully compatible with its vision expressed in A New Contract with Nature. I will be happy to answer whatever questions the committee may have.