The Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, has yet to approve the appointment of a group to review the pay of chief executives of semi-State companies, some four months after the group was approved by Cabinet.
The Department of Finance confirmed today Mr Lenihan had not yet given the go-ahead for the group which will review the large salaries and bonuses paid in commercial State companies. The Cabinet gave formal approval to the group in late July.
In a response to a parliamentary question submitted by Fianna Fáil TD Michael McGrath, Mr Lenihan said he would be appointing the group shortly but did not specify a date. The Department said today that no decision had been taken as yet.
Leo Varadkar, Fine Gael’s spokesman on communications and energy, said he was astonished that the group has not been appointed as yet. Mr Varadkar, who has campaigned on this issue, said: “By now, you would have expected a report and a decision to alter pay levels, especially in the current climate.
“In my view it would be appropriate to have a cap on public sector salaries as part of the four-year plan. A reasonable cap would be 15 times the lowest salary in the organisation.”
The group was announced in late July to examine how the salaries of chief executives of semi-states – including the ESB; RTÉ; An Post; Bord Gáis; Bord na Móna; Coillte; and the Dublin Airport Authority – were calculated.
The new group was expected to operate separately from the review group on State Assets, chaired by economist Colm McCarthy.
The chief executive of ESB Padraig McManus was paid a package worth more than €650,000 in 2009. The head of the DAA, Declan Collier, was paid a total of €568,000 in 2009 in pay, bonuses and other benefits (his basic salary is €320,000). Similarly, the chief executive of An Post, Donal Connell, was paid €500,000.
During 2008, some executives of semi States took voluntary cuts in salary of 10 per cent.
Mr McGrath, a TD for Cork South Central, has also criticised the pay levels of senior executive. He said some “enjoy grossly excessive remuneration packages which are way out of line with the market realities of 2010”.
“In view of the fact that the last review of chief executive remuneration in the commercial semi-state sector was in 2007 when Ireland was a very different place indeed, I believe this review should be held immediately,” he said.