Given the inevitability of disclosure, it is somewhat surprising that Jefferson Smurfit Group failed to put a better gloss on the figures for remuneration of its six individual directors, four of them members of the Smurfit family.

Chief operating officer Gary McGann wheeled out to defend the indefensible pay of Dr Michael Smurfit, contended the good doctor had dragged the company to its present heights from humble beginnings as a Dublin box firm.

Maybe, but in the first place, his annual remuneration should reflect current performance rather than historical factors; those were rewarded in the increase over the years in the value of the stock he holds in the company. Second, the company's recent performance hardly gives any cause for celebration or enhanced pay packages.

And one can only wonder about Mr McGann view of the disclosure that his own basic salary is lower than that of two Smurfit family members and company executives who report to him. Who says the Irish corporate world doesn't need greater transparency?