Salary of top civil servants hits almost €240,000 in new high since Celtic Tiger era

The average salaries of secretaries general in Government departments has risen to its highest level since the Celtic Tiger era.

Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe has disclosed that the average salary paid to the 18 civil servants who head Government Departments is €237,249.

This is the highest level since just before the economic crash in 2009 when the salaries averaged €258,502.

By the following year, the salaries had fallen to an average of €217,000 and continued to fall to €179,542. They began to rise again in 2017, topped €200,000 in 2019 and have continued to rise steadily since then, to €232,921 in 2022 and over €237,000 this year.

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The pay increases have resulted from the restoration of pay from the cuts imposed by Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) in 2010 as well as the increases awarded under the new Building Momentum public service pay agreement. The decision to pay a salary of almost €280,000 to the secretary general of the Department of Health was also an influence. The holder of that position, Robert Watt., earns €25,000 more annually to the next higher earners, Grade I secretaries-general who earn €255,000.

In recent months Graham Doyle at the Department of Housing has his grade reviewed upwards from Grade II (€240,000) to Grade I (€255,000). Kevin McCarthy at the Department of Children was also reviewed upwards from Grade III (€227,000) to the Grade II level (€240,000).

The salary of the top civil servants used to be pegged to those of senior Ministers but have diverged since the economic correction over a decade ago.

The salary of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is €205,000, some €75,000 less than that of Mr Watt. That includes reductions for portions of the salary that Mr Varadkar has gifted back to the State.

Mr Doyle and Mr McCarthy’s grade review, while awarded this year, dates back to the time their departments came into being in 2020, which will result in both officials receiving lump sums of tens of thousands each.

Asked on Tuesday about his decision to promote both public servants to higher grades, Mr Donohoe said: “I understand why there would be public concern and sensitively regarding a decision like this.”

He said the Department of Housing was involved in leading the delivery of more housing in Ireland, while the Department of Children had take on the additional and complex responsibilities of integration and inclusion.

He said both Departments were now “completely different in scale” when what Ministers envisaged the Government being formed in 2020.

He said he made the decision because he believed both posts were now graded in the right way.

He agreed that Ministers have, for some time, a salary that was less than their senior civil servants but believed that was appropriate. He argued they were politicians elected to public office on a salary that was “way ahead” of what most people earn.

“I do believe the salaries are appropriate for the work that they do,” he said adding. “I recognise that their salaries are large and are way in advance of what Government Ministers earn.”

Asked about payments from Bord na Móna to cover the benefit-in-kind tax bill for its chief executive’s €127,000 electric BMW and health insurance at a cost of €64,000, Mr Donohoe said that such decisions in a semi-State company were made by the board and the crucial factor was they were publicly available and transparent, and were declared in the annual report.

He said he would not put a blanket cap on such packages. “While I appreciate they are expensive and these are posts that have significant compensation attached to them, they relate to CEOs working in a part of the economy that is competitive. Lots of other companies want personnel with the semi-State companies to work for them.

Mr Donohoe did say, however, he would look at the body in charge of remuneration for senior posts in the Civil Service and in the semi-State sector, and would look at the issue of compensation.

This week Independent TD Mattie McGrath criticised the pay increases for Mr Doyle and Mr McCarthy.

“These pay hikes reveal a disconcerting level of Government disconnect which is both grotesque and tone-deaf,” he argued.

Referring to the regrading of Mr Doyle and Mr McCarthy he claimed that their departments were the most “underperforming” of all 18 Government departments.

“These pay hikes reveal a Government that fundamentally fails to comprehend the gravity of the situation, both on an emotional and logistical level.”