THE Bord na Mona drama, which had already seen its share of late night productions had its final show stopping performance late yesterday. A brief, four paragraph, statement from the company board announced, in formal tones, that "Dr Edward O'Connor agrees toe resign forthwith". And so the curtain fell on an extraordinary three month saga which started as an investigation into Dr O'Connor's remuneration package and was threatening to become a long running political embarrassment for the Government.

It has been clear in recent days that an agreed settlement package, under which Dr Eddie O'Connor would leave Bord na Mona, was the only way to avoid a long drawn out legal battle. The Four Courts loomed closer as Dr O'Connor threatened to seek a judicial review of the Government's decision earlier this week to suspend him pending a further inquiry into his remuneration package.

Politically, Mr Lowry had promised to deal with the whole affair "swiftly and decisively" and, along with other senior Ministers, he wanted it concluded as soon as possible. From the company's point of view, the controversy had already caused enough damage. Whether a board which is divided so deeply over the issue can continue to function is a question for another day.

However, it was one thing for both sides to want a settlement package and quite another for the deal to be done. Discussions on a settlement package have been underway, on and off, for some time now. Last week, the Government meeting late on Tuesday evening was adjourned for some time to see if any progress had been made in moving to a settlement.

But, with no deal in sight and under pressure to act on the situation, Ministers decide to suspend Dr O'Connor, pending a further review of his pay.

Dr O'Connor's threat of court action arising from this decision and the Government's determination to fight it concentrated minds in seeking a settlement package. Neither the Government side nor Dr O'Connor would have relished a lengthy and expensive court battle which would again have explored all the issues surrounding Dr O'Connor's package and the way the issue was handled by the board, the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications and the Government.

Discussions between Dr O'Connor's advisers solicitors William Fry and senior counsel Mr Bill Shipsey and the Departmental advisers got underway in earnest. Initially, there was a substantial gap between the two sides. Government sources say that they had been prepared to offer around £750,000 when the discussions started but that Dr O'Connor's initial claim was for substantially more.

The figures quoted as the "value" of such packages can often be misleading, as much of it derives from the pension, which is paid over a long period of years. Dr O'Connor is likely to have received the remainder of his contract which has about a year to run, a severance payment of one to two years his basic pay and a pension based on his salary. He is also likely to have reached some deal on his considerable legal costs.

Counting the pension and legal costs, the overall value may be between £750,000 and £900,000. In return, Dr O'Connor has resigned and waived any further legal action against the company or the State.

Contacts went on all day yesterday in an attempt to broker the deal. Dr O'Connor spent the day in the officers of his legal advisers and the Government's legal team made what they said was the outline of final settlement terms. With movement underway on both sides, the outlines of a settlement package began to emerge.

By around 7 p.m., it was clears that a deal was on the way. All remained was for the legal to finalise the terms. Once this was done, the company's solicitors and", its chairman, Mr Dineen, were informed and the carefully drafted announcement was published just before 11 p.m.

Both sides agreed to make no further comment and the statement made a point of saying that the settlement "now allows the company to focus its attention on addressing the challenges facing it".

However, questions continue to surround the whole affair. These include the ones which were being asked when it started about the standards of corporate governance applied in Bord na Mona and, specifically, the way Dr O'Connor's remuneration was agreed by the former chairman Mr Brendan Halligan.

But the inability of the board to deal with the affair and Dr O'Connor's allegations of a campaign to undermine him because of his plans for the company which found late support from the company's unions are other key dimensions of the whole affair.

While the Government might now like to draw a veil over the controversy, its reverberations are likely to be felt for some time.