FORMER CRH chief executive Liam O’Mahony took a €1 million cut in pay in his last year at the helm of the building materials multinational, according to its annual report.

The report, published yesterday, shows that Mr O’Mahony’s total package came to €1.746 million in 2008, as against €2.794 million the previous year.

Mr O’Mahony’s pension was fully funded by 2004, and both his and colleague Myles Lee’s retirement benefits were capped in line with the provisions of the 2006 Finance Act. As a result, the company made no contribution to Mr O’Mahony’s pension in 2008.

His salary and fees accounted for the bulk of his package and came to €1.45 million for the year.

Mr Lee, who succeeded Mr O’Mahony as chief executive and who was finance director in 2008, also had his total pay and benefits package reduced during the year. He was paid €1.1 million in total in 2008, compared with €1.465 million the previous year.

His basic salary and fees were €640,000 and the company paid him €329,000 in retirement benefit.

During the year, Tom Hill, the executive who ran part of the group’s US operation before resigning in July 2008, received a payment of €78,000 in respect of a pension liability and 15,600 shares due to him under the group’s directors’ incentive plan.

Non-executive directors were paid a total of €1.247 million in fees and “other remuneration” last year.

Nine of them received a total of €568,000 in fees and €679,000 in other remuneration.

The exception was PJ Molloy, who resigned as chairman during the year.