Myles Lee, who retired as CRH's chief executive officer in 2013, received a 64 per cent increase in compensation in his final year heading the biggest company on the Irish stock exchange.

Mr Lee received €4.163 million last year compared with €2.536 million in 2012, Dublin-based CRH said in an annual filing.

The payout included €1.6 million from a long-term incentive plan and almost €1 million in “retirement benefits” on top of his basic salary, the filing shows.

CRH increased total disclosed payouts to executive directors by more than 50 per cent for 2013.

Albert Manifold, the former chief operating officer who replaced Mr Lee as CEO, got almost €2 million compared with €1.4 million a year previously.

Bloomberg