Executive pay rose 7.1 per cent in the 12 months to the end of June last, according to the latest annual IMI pay survey.
The increase was the highest since the 2000/2001 survey - although rising inflation means the real value of the salary increases has declined in each of the past three years.
The rise compares with increases of between 5 per cent and 5.5 per cent for the bulk of the workforce under the national agreement Towards 2016.
The majority of the 6,231 executives surveyed received performance-related bonuses on top of their salary as well as other fringe benefits.
The survey, compiled by the Irish Management Institute (IMI), covers executive salaries paid by companies operating in the Republic on June 1st last.
A total of 919 companies were approached as part of the survey, but just 150 (16 per cent) responded. Just over half (51 per cent) were based in Dublin and 57 per cent were wholly Irish-owned.
Chief executives received the highest increase in salary over the period, with a rise of 7.6 per cent. The most significant increase recorded in the survey of chief executives was 9.79 per cent and the lowest 6.3 per cent.
The average chief executive's salary ranges from €134,425 for those running companies that employ fewer than 50 people to €312,243 for those in charge of firms with more than 1,000 staff.
Performance-related bonuses are a feature for 88.7 per cent of chief executives and the majority of other senior staff - with both personal and company performance generally taken into account.
After chief executives, first-line managers fared best on pay in the 2006/07 survey, receiving average increases of 7.1 per cent, followed by middle managers (7 per cent) and heads of function (6.6 per cent).
Companies expect salary increases to moderate next year to an average of 6.01 per cent, with chief executives again expected to top their peers with growth of 6.5 per cent.
The rise of female executives is reflected in the survey, with 19 per cent of respondent companies having a female chief executive. This compares with 11 per cent last year and just 5 per cent in 2005.
Free company cars and medical insurance were the fringe benefits most commonly available to senior staff in the survey.
Engineering continues to be the background most likely to produce Irish chief executives (32.7 per cent of companies surveyed).
