The Irish Association of Investment Managers is still at loggerheads with the Stock Exchange and the Institute of Directors over new guidelines for public companies to make a full disclosure of the individual remuneration packages paid to directors. The association is planning to introduce new guidelines in the new year that would require the full disclosure of individual directors' remuneration, share options and incentive schemes. At the moment the disclosure of directors' remuneration is covered by the Irish Stock Exchange's "combined code" which only requires the remuneration of executive and non-executive directors to be separately aggregated. But there is no requirement to disclose the salaries and other payments of individual directors as is required of public companies in Britain and the US.

The Irish Stock Exchange is, however, still firmly resisting such a change and is very anxious to maintain the status quo.

The IAIM has upped the ante somewhat by suggesting that public companies may find it difficult to raise capital in the future unless its new guidelines are adopted. The IAIM's members are the major investors in Irish publicly quoted companies, and while their stakes in the Irish market will dilute with the introduction of Economic Monetary Union, they will still be major players. The Institute of Directors opposes any proposal from the IAIM to disclose the remuneration packages of individual directors. The institute director, Mr Niall Moloney, has fully backed the Stock Exchange's position stating publicly that the combined code complies fully with Irish company law and that the institute does not see any need to change the existing practice of aggregating directors' remuneration.