Government pay cut will save €675,000

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen will see his salary fall by over €28,500 and his ministers will each sacrifice circa €22,500 after agreeing to take a 10% pay cut.

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.