Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In preparation for the Committee of Public Accounts meeting that will take place early in the new year, we will need to see the emails that were sent in order to see who initiated the conversation. It is important that we establish the facts. What is evident today is that these payments were made in secret and were part of a cosy arrangement between Mr. Hill, the former finance director, the HR director and the FAI chairman, who Mr. Hill says initiated this.

What is evident today is that these payments were made in secret and were part of a cosy arrangement between Mr. Hill, the former finance director, the HR director and the chairman, whom Mr. Hill says initiated this. What has been presented today is a cock-and-bull story about how this came about. We know that the remuneration committee was not in favour of it - that committee is the first port of call in any of these types of conversation – and the board had to be informed of any decision relating to the CEO’s pay. Does Mr. Hill believe these are the leadership qualities of a chief executive who puts transparency and good governance at the heart of his role?