Hill sorry for taking payments

JONATHAN HILL has conceded that he could be perceived as being greedy over his acceptance of around €20,000 in additional payments.

The FAI chief executive (above) has since handed the cash back – allowing the association to once again access almost €7million in state funding that had been frozen because of the issue.

When it was put to him that, from the outside it looked like he was being greedy, Hill replied: “I can see that. I have spoken to that, I have addressed it, particularly with the staff.”

Hill said after yesterday’s AGM in Stillorgan that he did not ask for the controversial payments, which were the subject of a Kosi audit.

Outgoing chairman Roy Barrett told those in attendance that he took full responsibility for the damaging affair – but that it was the “right decision” to give Hill the payments.

“I don’t apologise for the decision, it was the right decision and I will still defend it, given the sums involved in the totality of it,” said Barrett.

He also told delegates that he did not seek board approval for the payments – of around €12,500 in lieu of holidays and €8,500 in benefit in kind and added he did not believe they would be in breach of the bailout agreement with the Government.

Hill said that he did not request the payments.

But he admitted: “In terms of my apology in relation to it, I guess at a certain point I could have said, as I did actually say on a number of occasions, I’m just very happy to take these holidays forward into the next year and or indeed I could have just gone on holiday.”

Incoming chairman Tony Keohane, ratified with a vote of 111 in favour, two against and one abstention, sought to distance himself from his predecessor. “I’ll be clear, I’ll be blunt. That won’t happen on my watch,” he said.