The big questions that remain unanswered

December 01 2010 04:47 AM

What is Giovanni Trapattoni's new salary?

We are still unsure what reduction the Italian has taken on his €1.8m-a-year deal, which Minister for Sport Mary Hanafin described as unjustifiable, although it's hard to place too much importance on any financial comment from the Government.

John Delaney said he met Trapattoni in Milan two weeks ago and from those discussions there was agreement that the international management team would take a cut.

Trapattoni indicated he was taking a minimum 5pc, with no further details offered. 5pc of his current deal is €90,000, but then half of his package is paid by Denis O'Brien, so his new cost to the FAI remains a grey area.

What is John Delaney's new salary?

The chief executive was on a package worth €430,000, but says he has volunteered for the biggest percentage drop of all staff.

However, he refused to divulge the specifics, nor clarify how his position became so highly paid in the first place.

"It is significant, but I am not going to go into it today," he said. "I will say that of any employee, it is the greatest percentage in terms of the reduction."

Has the business plan changed since the AGM in August?

Delegates were given a detailed presentation by then finance director Mark O'Leary about how the FAI would steer its way through the next few years.

O'Leary left soon afterwards, and the country has also suffered a gruelling couple of months. So, does the plan remain unaltered?

Delaney expects the turnover next year to be €48m, although there are variables related to the performance in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

However, he was less clear on how a reduction in ticket prices will affect projections.

What is the level of borrowing on the Aviva Stadium?

Asked directly if the figure stood between €50m and €60m, Delaney neglected to go into specifics. But he restated his confidence that all repayments will be made by 2020. "Absolutely," he said. "No question."

Will further jobs go in the next 12 months?

While Delaney may have stressed confidence in the 2011 business plan, he was unable to make any guarantees for the 170 or so employees that remain.

"I would be more than hopeful that those (2011) budgets will ensure there are no further redundancies next year, but we live in a different world at the moment," he said.

"You can't be sure of anything that will happen in the coming number of months, what's going to happen in Portugal, what's going to happen in Spain, you can't give any assurances."