Varadkar: Watt does not have to divulge if he has taken €81k raise

Sinn Féin's Louise O'Reilly said: "It shouldn't be lost on people that when there's money to be doled out, carers were left at the very bottom of that list."

Robert Watt's €81,000 pay increase brought his salary to €292,000. Photo: Gareth Chaney / Collins

The Department of Health's top civil servant does not have to reveal whether he has taken an €81,000 pay increase as it is a "private matter", the Tánaiste has said.

Robert Watt was controversially awarded an €81,000 pay increase when he was appointed secretary general in the Department of Health last year. This brought his salary to €292,000. While this top-up was temporarily waived, it is unclear whether Mr Watt has since accepted the increase.

Leo Varadkar said that under under GDPR the salaries and and pension arrangements of civil servants are a private matter.

Asked what he would do if he were in Mr Watt's position, the Tánaiste said: "I'm definitely not Robert Watt.

"I am a public figure and as is the case for all politicians our salaries are published and I do make voluntary surrender of 10% a year. 

But he is not a public figure, he is a civil servant and the rules are different for civil servants and public servants in relation to their salaries.

Mr Varadkar stressed that it is therefore up to Mr Watt as to whether he wants to or does not want to clarify questions around his salary.

"We have 350,000 people working in the public service and it's not the case that their salary details or their pension details are made public."

Mr Varadkar added that he doesn't have a personal view on the issue and again said it is a "personal matter" for Mr Watt.

When pressed on the fact that Mr Watt was willing to publicly announce his decision to waive part of the salary but is now not willing to confirm if that waiver is still in place, Mr Varadkar said: "He has a right to decide whether or not to answer that question."

The Tánaiste added: "He has a salary that was agreed by Government. He took a personal decision to give back a portion of that salary, that was a personal decision, that wasn't a Government decision."

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Sinn Féin's Louise O'Reilly said Mr Watt should be given a chance to come before the Oireachtas Public Expenditure Committee to answer questions about his salary.

"I think the neverending wage increases for a small number of people is very much in stark contrast to the announced recognition bonus which is not going to apply to carers.

"So I think the government needs to look at where they're deploying their resources and where their priorities lie. I think Mr Watt should be given the chance to come in front of the committee and to share with the members of the committee, as I believe he had done previously, the current status of the waiver.

"But it shouldn't be lost on people that when there's money to be doled out, unfortunately, carers were left at the very bottom of that list. And I think they're very angry when they see someone who's already on a salary that most people could only dream of actually getting an increase on top of that," she said.