THE NEW chairman of the Garda Ombudsman Commission, Dermot Gallagher, will be paid €90,000 a year, which Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said yesterday would mean a saving of €153,000 per annum.
The nomination of the recently-retired secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs to the ombudsman position, in succession to the late Mr Justice Kevin Haugh, has been approved by the Dáil.
The commission investigates complaints from members of the public against the Garda Síochána. A Department of Justice spokeswoman said the saving of €153,000 arose from the fact that Mr Gallagher’s predecessor was paid €243,000 per annum.
Mr Gallagher told The Irish Times he had intended to take a six-month break when he retired after 40 years in the public service, but had been asked by Mr Ahern to take on the ombudsman role and had agreed “out of a sense of national duty”.
He was entitled to a total salary package of approximately €256,000 to match the level of remuneration in the secretary general’s post. This would have meant an annual payment of €130,000 on top of his pension of €126,000.
However, he felt this level of remuneration was “inappropriate in the present circumstances” and had asked for a reduced amount which would now be €90,000.
He was elected last week as chair of the governing body of University College Dublin. This is an honorary post that carries no salary and Mr Gallagher said he would not be claiming expenses.
The Dáil approved his nomination yesterday on the proposal of Mr Ahern.