Irish Continental CEO earned €687,000 last year

IRISH Continental Group chief executive, Eamonn Rothwell is one of the highest paid chief executives in Ireland, earning close to €700,000 last year.

Although profits at the company fell heavily last year, Mr Rothwell’s total pay package went up by €35,000 to €687,000.

The 49-year-old joined Irish Continental in 1992 and had previously worked with stockbrokers NCB and as a banker with AIB.

According to Irish Continental’s 2004 annual report, Mr Rothwell was paid a basic salary of €375,000 and got a bonus of €244,000. He also netted pension contributions and other perks of €68,000.

Meanwhile, Michael O’Leary, the boss of Europe’s most profitable airline Ryanair, earned €632,000 over the same period.

The average salary of an Irish Ferries worker is around €55,000.

Mr Rothwell is also one of the biggest investors in the ferry group. His stake in the company is worth around €20 million.

Other members of the Irish Continental board are also paid well. Finance chief, Gearóid O’Dea took home €321,000 - a €38,000 increase on the amount he netted in 2003.

Tony Kelly, a senior executive with Irish Ferries, also saw a substantial rise in his pay packet. Mr Kelly, who oversees the marketing of Irish Ferries, was paid €244,000 in 2004 - that’s up €20,000 on the previous year.

Irish Continental is chaired by John B McGuckian, one of the driving forces behind Ulster Television. Mr McGuckian’s fees for the part-time role more than doubled in 2004 to €73,000.

Overall, the Irish Continental board shared €1.4m in pay and perks in 2004 - 8% more than they received in 2003.

The increase came despite a fall in profits at the company. Profits dropped by half last year to €9.2m.