The Taoiseach is set to receive a pay rise of €38,000 a year, which will bring
his annual salary to €310,000.

The pay increase is under the terms of a pay review for senior public servants.

The Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector compares pay in the
private sector with incomes of around 1600 senior staff including politicians,
the judiciary, top gardaí and heads of Government departments and state
agencies.
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The average award for these staff will be 7.3% and the total cost of the
increases will be around €16m a year.

In general, the most senior staff have received the highest increases to take
account of their heavier responsibilities.

The increases could have been even higher, but the review body discounted
salaries by 15% to allow for the value of guaranteed State pensions.

However, a significant number of staff have been awarded no increase at all.

Politicians are among the big winners in this top pay review.

The Taoiseach gets a 14% pay rise, while the Tánaiste's pay packet increases by
15.5% to €270,000.

Ministers salaries are up 12% to €240,000 and Junior ministers also rise by 12%
to €165,000. These earnings include their TD salaries.

Fine Gael has described the Government's acceptance of the pay award as
'disgusting'.

Enterprise spokesperson Leo Varadkar said it was outrageous that Ministers
should give themselves a pay rise at a time when Budgets were being tightened
and hospital wards closed.

Judges got the highest average increase at 18.1% because the review factored in
high barrister salaries, which may influence suitable people in joining the
judiciary.

Increases

A number of people are earning more than the new going rate for the job.

HSE Chief Executive Brendan Drumm is earning around €360,000 plus bonuses of up
to 25%.

The Review Body says the going rate for his job should be €303,000. 

However, it is understood that the Prof Drumm has additional duties in setting
up the new body from scratch.

Also earning more than the recommended rate is the Commissioner for Aviation
Regulation who is currently on €203,379.

The recommended salary in future will be €185,000.

Other recipients of large pay increases:

* The Dublin City Manager will receive an increase of 36.2%

* The head of the IDA will get a 22% rise

* The head of Teagasc's pay packet will jump by 29%

* The DPPs annual wage is to go up by 27%

* Both the Garda Ombudsman and Garda Commissioner's annual salaries will rise by
15%.

However a number of grades received no pay award at all - including 150 Local
Authority Directors of Services, and 32 HSE Local Health Office Managers.
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http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1025/politics.html

You wouldn't mind if these fellas even earned a quarter of the pay... But FFS!!!

What say you?

Ray