In general, I do not meet chief executives on their own. I have, however, met chairmen, and boards accompanied by their chief executives, on more than one occasion, in respect of each of the State bodies. Many of these meetings discussed wide-ranging agendas. I have given several of the companies general indications as to my thinking and that of the Government in relation to their businessess and sectors.
It is not for me to set policy and performance targets for individual chief executives; I see this as a matter for chairmen, boards and remuneration sub-committees where these exist.
I have noted that report No. 37 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector, the Buckley report, recommends that boards should set out performance targets in the context of performance-related elements of remuneration packages for chief executives. This matter will fall to be determined in the context of ongoing consideration of the general question of implementing report No. 37. I would tend to see the recommendations in chapter 2 as a package.