DAA chief’s bonus angers minister

TRANSPORT minister Leo Varadkar has reacted angrily to the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) planning to award its chief executive Declan Collier, a €100,000 performance- related bonus for last year.

The DAA’s latest annual report, published yesterday, included a provision for Mr Collier’s bonus, adding that the payment has been deferred until his current contract runs its course.

Although aware of the parking of the payment, a spokesperson for Minister Varadkar said that he was “very dissatisfied” with the development.

“It is the Government’s clear policy that no performance-related payments should be made in respect of 2010. All of the Government’s agencies would be expected to comply with this,” a department spokesperson said.

“Shortly after he took office, the minister met collectively with the chairpersons and chief executives of all the agencies. He informed them that the Government intended to consider the issue of performance-related pay, in respect of the CEOs of all state agencies and that, in the meantime, such payments shouldn’t be made. While neither the former chairman of the authority, nor the CEO was in a position to attend, a representative of the authority was present. The minister strongly reiterated this position in a subsequent meeting with the former chairman and it was also clearly articulated by the department’s representative on the board’s remuneration committee,” they added.

A spokesperson for the DAA declined to comment, other than saying that the authority is aware of the minister’s views.

Mr Collier’s basic salary fell from €320,400 to €308,500 last year, but his overall remuneration package rose from €568,100 to €612,500 — an 8% increase.

The DAA’s 2010 report, meanwhile, showed that the body swung back into the black last year — going from an exceptional item-driven loss of €13.3m to a profit of €33.1m. The authority put the growth down to “a significant reduction” in its costs and said it was achieved despite a negative backdrop of the poor economy, low consumer spending patterns and the Icelandic ash cloud which reduced passenger numbers — across its three airports — by nearly one million people.