The ESB has given its chief executive, Paddy Hayes a pay increase of just under €92,000 after receiving ministerial approval to do so.
In a statement, the ESB has confirmed that it has received Government sanction to increase the annual salary of Hayes to €410,000. The new approved salary represents an increase of €91,917 – or 29 per cent – on his 2025 salary of €318,083.
A spokesman for the ESB said: “The sanction for an increase in annual salary to €410,000 reflects the scale, scope and complexity of ESB’s operations.”
Hayes oversees an organisation that last year generated a pretax profit of €749.7 million on revenues of €6.73 billion as employee numbers increased to 9,968.
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The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Jack Chambers sanctioned the pay increase for Hayes on July 6th. Chambers approved the salary increase on a recommendation by ESB’s line Minister, Darragh O’Brien.
“The decision confirms an approach covering a three-year period, which will be subject to annual performance review against key performance indicators,” a spokeswoman for the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment said.
ESB chairman, Terence O’Rourke welcomed the Ministers’ approval and said: “ESB continues to deliver on its ambitious strategy, supporting Ireland’s social and economic development, delivering infrastructure, empowering customers and developing and connecting renewable generation.”
The new salary came into effect on July 6th, a spokesman for the ESB confirmed.
He said the increase in pay was the first since 2011 for the CEO and follows a review of executive pay arrangements for CEOs of commercial state bodies by an independent senior posts remuneration committee.
Hayes’s overall pay package for 2025 totalled €372,822, comprising salary of €318,083, pension contributions of €49,197 and benefit in kind (a car) of €5,560.
With Hayes’s €410,000 salary coming into effect from July, the ESB spokesman said that the chief executive’s pay for 2026 would be €363,000. ESB will pay an additional €56,500 into his pension this year.
This will result in a salary and pension package of €419,500 for 2026, not including Hayes’s use of a company car on which the benefit in kind is payable.
The Government has to date sanctioned pay increases for 19 commercial state body chief executive. Four other proposals are currently under consideration for the CEOs of RTÉ, TG4, Coillte and Drogheda Port.
