Enda Kenny says he is ‘very much’ worth his €185,000 salary

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has insisted he is worth his €3,500 a week salary.

Asked at the launch of the Low Pay Commission in Dublin whether his €185,000 a year salary were value for money, Mr Kenny replied "very much so".

Mr Kenny was also asked about the wage bill for the Department of the Taoiseach.

“Salaries are down by 40 per cent and in the case of the Taoiseach’s (department) we have cut everything to the bone,” he said.

Mr Kenny's salary compares with €142,000 for British prime minister David Cameron, $400,000 (€356,143) for US president Barack Obama and €179,000 for French president Francois Hollande and the €200,000 plus earned by German chancellor Angela Merkel.

The commission is a nine-person panel which will advise Government on changes to the minimum wage, which is currently €8.65 per hour.

The Government insisted that cuts or increases to the minimum wage will be agreed on the basis of evidence and after consulting directly with workers and business owners.

The annual minimum wage reviews will examine unemployment and employment rates generally, advise on the expected impact of a cut or increase on employment, the cost of living and national competitiveness and it will also look at changes in income distribution and exchange rates.

Addressing the work of the commission, the Taoiseach insisted the Government would not delay implementing its recommendations. “Work should pay more than welfare, and no household with a person in full-time work should be poor. This is not always the case at the moment,” he said.

PA