Committee to quiz O'Byrne - March 8,
2001
FAI finance watchdogs have appointed a four-man committee to quiz chief executive Bernard O'Byrne over alleged irregularities in the handling of his expense account.
Former referee and trade union supremo Bill Attley will be joined by Michael Cody, Charlie Cahill and Vincent Cummins on the committee, which is expected to meet O'Byrne next week.
An Irish Sunday newspaper this week claimed that O'Byrne had charged £20,000 of personal expenses to his FAI business credit card.
The FAI chief executive strongly denied the allegations, but admitted that three personal hotel bills - amounting to around £1,200 - had been erroneously charged to the FAI account over a three-year period.
As soon as the errors came to light, O'Byrne said, the money had been repaid.
The committee is expected to report back to the FAI's finance committee within a month.