Documents submitted to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) show that a third new director has been appointed to the Beef Plan Movement CLG (company limited by guarantee).

Earlier this month, AgriLand reported that two directors of the company – Enda Fingleton and Alan O’Brien – had been notified to the CRO as having resigned. At around the same time, Emmanuel O’Dea and Jason Fitzgerald were appointed as directors.

However, Fingleton – who represents the group on the Beef Market Taskforce – said that he and O’Brien had not resigned, and claimed they were removed over their scrutiny of the company’s accounts.

Subsequent to this, Beef Plan’s co-founder and secretary of the CLG Hugh Doyle confirmed to AgriLand that Fingleton and O’Brien had not resigned, saying they were “removed” following “legal advice”.

Now, a new document submitted to the CRO – dated January 11 and signed by Doyle – shows that John Moloney of Limerick has also been appointed a director, bringing to three the number of new directors appointed in less than a month.

This current controversy forms part of the long-running dispute in the Beef Plan Movement. The “removed” directors (Fingleton and O’Brien) and the appointed directors are known to be on opposing sides of the split.

Fingleton told AgriLand that he and O’Brien had lodged a formal complained with the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) on foot of the CRO documents which said they had resigned.

Fingleton and O’Brien’s camp has since issued a further statement on the matter, saying that those two men were removed “without their knowledge or consent”.

Remarking on the appointment of three new directors, the statement said: “It is not clear how or why these particular individuals were selected.”

Financial accounts

That same statement claimed that “full documentation related to the financial accounts has not been released…for review or audit”.

“It is our opinion that the sole purpose…[in removing] the two directors of the company was linked to their demands for transparency, scrutiny and accountability on how membership subscriptions were spent,” the statement contended.