The State’s uneasy truce on top-level pay is fraying. The Senior Posts Remuneration Committee (SPRC) concluded in March that Ireland’s regime for commercial semi-State chief executives is “not optimal” for the State, taxpayers or companies. The Government endorsed a new banded structure in April, while retaining the ban on performance bonuses. Reform was promised, but delivery has been slow. In the meantime, practice has outrun policy. That gap can lead to both governance drift and political embarrassment.
The current, very public predicament can be traced back to EirGrid, where Mark Foley’s departure as chief executive led to ministers signing off a ¤300,000 salary for his successor, outside the nascent SPRC framework. The decision solved a recruitment problem, set a precedent that other boards have sought to follow, with predictable knock-on effects. Gas Networks Ireland lost its chief executive to EirGrid and remains in limbo with an acting leader; Irish Rail struggled to recruit at the existing ¤225,000 rate, with one preferred candidate reportedly unwilling to move for less than about ¤300,000.
The contortions prompted by wage restrictions are visible in Bord na Móna. In 2023 the company “grossed up” more than ¤50,000 to cover the tax on benefits in kind. Officials in the Department of Public Expenditure later criticised the practice. Such workarounds are symptoms of a system that lacks clear, credible parameters and timely decisions.
Meanwhile, companies charged with critical public objectives are stuck between boards seeking to start searches and departments waiting for final bands. An Post has stressed the urgency of confirmed bands to progress its chief executive recruitment. Energy, water and transport bodies report similar frustrations. Every month of uncertainty narrows candidate pools and increases the likelihood that policy will be shaped by expediency rather than strategy.
RM Block
The politics are unforgiving. In the run-up to a budget where cost-of-living measures are set to be ended, six-figure increases appear tone-deaf. But failure to appoint and retain capable leaders also carries a cost that voters will ultimately end up paying. Ultimately, the Government’s procrastination has not served the public well. It must now promptly publish the bands for each body, the comparators used, and a calendar for implementation, tying progression within bands to independently audited outcomes where bonuses remain off the table and ending bespoke exceptions. Any necessary departures from policy should be strictly time-limited, independently certified and disclosed immediately. The SPRC provides the scaffolding. What is missing is consistency and speed. Without them, the State will keep paying the political price of improvisation.
