Paschal Donohoe ‘considering’ civil servant pay top-up recommendations

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has confirmed he is “considering” calls to drastically increase salaries for Ireland’s top public servants — despite insisting he has made no decision on whether to act on the recommendations.

Mr Donohoe side-stepped making any immediate decision on the deeply controversial measures after it emerged the changes could see top-ranking officials’ income surge by more than €100,000.

As revealed in last Saturday’s Irish Examiner, a new Department of Public Expenditure report has suggested that some of the country’s best-paid public servants are being under-paid by 30% — despite already earning as much as €350,000 a year.

The situation is due to a decade-old pay cap limiting the salaries of Ireland’s 1,000 top civil and public servants.

If the gap is to be addressed, the report said in net terms these individuals — who include department secretaries-general and the chief executives of semi-state bodies — could see their pay packets increase by between €60,000 and €105,000.

However, Department of Public Expenditure report has suggested this pay cap “may no longer be appropriate” as the existing ceiling is making it increasingly difficult to fill empty roles.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner at an international tax conference in Dublin on Thursday, Mr Donohoe confirmed the existence of the report and said he is considering its recommendations.

However, in an acknowledgement of the potential public criticism if top officials’ salaries were drastically increased, the finance minister said he has yet to make any decision on what should happen next.

What you’re referring to is that there was a report published by the Public Service Pay Commission, it looked at recruitment and retention statistics of all senior levels in Ireland.

“We looked at the chief executives of public state companies and senior civil servants. It said for some of those roles there are other options open now for people in those roles because of how well parts of our economy are going at the moment.

“The only commitment that I’m giving at the moment is to considering that report, and I have not taken any recommendations to cabinet yet regarding how or whether we would act upon it,” Mr Donohoe said.

Any increase in pay packets for senior officials could potentially cause the Government a significant political dilemma if it is agreed in the lead-up to the next general election. Any pay increases would likely lead to a backlash from sections of the public continuing to struggling with rent, mortgage and other costs.