Government pay cut will save €675,000
Secretaries-general of the 15 Government departments have also agreed to take a 10% cut, and Finance Minister Brian Lenihan appealed to other senior civil servants to follow their lead.
Announcing the move yesterday, Mr Lenihan said: “I wish to tell the House that members of the Government and Ministers of State will surrender 10% of their current total pay.
“Officers at secretary-general level in Government departments have volunteered to make a corresponding surrender in respect of their pay.
“Other public servants in leadership and senior positions may wish to consider whether it is appropriate for them to make a similar move in current circumstances,” he added.
The pay cut will take effect from November 1, the Department of Finance said last night, and will save an estimated €675,000 in a full year.
The Taoiseach currently earns €285,582 — a salary which comprises Cabinet pay of €185,392 and TD pay of €100,190.
The 10% pay cut means Mr Cowen will see his salary fall by €28,558 to roughly €257,000.
Tánaiste Mary Coughlan currently earns €245,324 and will see that salary fall by over €24,532 to just under €221,000.
Mr Lenihan currently earns €225,195 and will see his salary fall by €22,519 to circa €202,600. His fellow ministers will take an identical cut.
Ministers of State will each see their existing pay of €154,740 fall by €15,474 to just over €139,000.
Secretaries-general typically earn €221,929 a year, meaning their pay will fall by €22,192 to just under €200,000.
Some earn more, however, such as the country’s most senior civil servant, Dermot McCarthy, who is both secretary general of the Department of Taoiseach and secretary general to the Government.
He earns €303,000 a year, and so will take a €30,300 pay cut, lowering his salary to €272,700.
