Uisce Éireann gave its highest-paid executives five-figure bonus payments in 2024

Uisce Éireann chief executive Niall Gleeson said the bonus structure was necessary in order to recruit and retain staff. File pictrue

Water utility Uisce Éireann gave 47 of its best-paid employees an average of €21,575 in bonus payments for good performance in 2024.

The State-owned body said those in its highest salary band for senior executives — paid between €122,000 and €225,000 a year, had received between €6,606 and the €32,509 — the highest point paid — for performing their work satisfactorily over the 12 months.

Some 103 workers on salaries between €102,000 and €154,000 received average bonus payments of €16,056, while another 459 on salaries of between €83,000 and €125,000 were paid bonuses of €11,733 on average.

Uisce Éireann has run a bonus scheme since 2013, ahead of the then-planned introduction of water charges — a tax subsequently dropped amid countrywide protests.

Chief executive Niall Gleeson previously defended the bonus culture at Uisce Éireann, telling the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) it represented “value for money”.

Some €13.1m was paid out in bonuses in 2024 by the utility, an increase of 24%, or €2.5m, in just one year.

Mr Gleeson has said the bonus structure is necessary in order to recruit and retain staff. Uisce Éireann had not responded to a request for comment at the time of writing.

In a statement to the PAC accompanying the breakdown of its bonuses paid in 2024, it said the scheme was “designed to foster a high-performance culture”.

“It aligns with pay practices in other semi-State organisations and supports our ability to retain and attract skilled staff, which is essential for delivering public water services,” it said, adding the model seeks to reward “performance rather than tenure”.

Uisce Éireann has roughly 2,400 directly-employed staff eligible to receive the bonus, not counting an additional 2,100 workers in the employ of local authorities.

Just 6.5%, or roughly 150, of those workers either did not receive a bonus or were paid a reduced figure due to substandard performance in 2024.