Central Bank chief paid far more than US equivalent

WHEN the governor of the Central Bank, John Hurley, appeared before the Oireachtas Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs on March 10 he explained that the public exhortations of the Central Bank that highlighted risks to financial stability from August 2007 were “not as effective as they might have been and they did not lead to a sufficient or timely change in behaviour”.

The committee was reminded that the governor is paid an annual salary of e348,000, a figure that reflects the voluntary reduction taken by him last October from the e368,000 that he had hitherto been paid.

It is interesting to compare the salary for this position with those whose influence on global economic affairs is absolutely pivotal and whose utterances and nuances hugely impact the world investment climate and the effectiveness of economic recovery initiatives.