THE Government has issued a stark warning that pay rates in commercial semi-states are too high and will be cut.
Minister for Public Sector Reform and Expenditure Brendan Howlin said salaries in companies like the ESB were out of line with the economy.
"I think some people would be surprised, some people would be shocked at some of the pay rates," he said.
"I think what’s happened in that sector, as in other sectors, is that pay rates in this economy have gone out of kilter."
The McCarthy report showed that semi-state bosses who took pay cuts in recent years were sometimes "more than compensated" by an increase in other elements of their overall remuneration package.
The report, which carries a comprehensive table on chief executives’ pay, states that in some cases a reduction in the basic salary was offset by hikes in income elsewhere.
The combined pay for the heads of 10 semi-state companies came to almost €4.4 million in 2009, almost the same as in 2007, and just €73,000 below what it came to in 2008.
The head of the ESB is the top earner with a package of €752,568.
However, the report falls short of saying bosses are paid too much, and points out it is a matter for boards to satisfy themselves as to whether pay rates reflect the duties carried out, and that the levels are necessary to attract talent.
Mr McCarthy said the review was recommended amid repeated claims that pay right across the public sector is out of step with the private sector.
"Whether it’s really true or not, I don’t really know. It’s asserted all the time but you don’t find hard evidence," he said.
Mr Howlin said: "We’ve a smaller-scale economy and a lot of people are taking great personal hits in their incomes.
"So there really is a need, if you’re to have any sense of fairness and solidarity, to look at the pay rates across the public sector generally.
"I have been mandated by Government to bring proposals to Cabinet to look at how that can be achieved.
Salaries of the chief executives in some semi-states from 2007-09.
* ESB chief executive Padraig McManus’ pay rose from €534,000 to €752,000.
* Bord Gáis’ John Mullins’ salary package fell to €394,000 from €461,000.
* EirGrid’s Dermot Byrne’s package rose to €407,000 from €325,000.
* Bord na Mona’s Gabriel D’Arcy got €392,000, up from €365,000.
* Coillte’s David Gunning received €417,000, up from €409,000.
* Dublin Airport Authority’s Declan Collier got pay of €568,100, down from €698,000.
* Irish Aviation Authority’s Eamonn Brennan got €324,000, down from €350,000.
* Dublin Port’s Eamon O’Reilly saw earnings rise to €317,000 from €290,000.
* RTÉ’s director-general Noel Curran was down to €326,000 from €441,000.
* An Post’s Donal Connell was on €500,000, down from €523,000.
* 28 people are paid more than €250,000, with nine in semi-state companies.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Thursday, April 21, 2011
