THE CHIEF executive of Irish Life & Permanent (IL&P), Kevin Murphy, took a 28 per cent pay cut to €538,000 in 2010, according to the company’s annual report.

Mr Murphy’s salary was reduced to €500,000 a year from August 2009 after he was appointed chief executive.

This was in line with the Government cap on bankers’ pay under the terms of the bank guarantee.

His 2010 remuneration package included €34,000 in benefit-in-kind payments and €4,000 for “other remuneration”.

Mr Murphy’s total pay is down from €959,000 in 2008 to €744,000 in 2009.

Finance director David McCarthy’s total pay package increased to €532,000 from €514,000.

Non-executive directors shared €722,000 in fees for 2010, down from €812,000 the previous year.

Gillian Bowler, who is due to stand down as chairwoman of IL&P in May, received €200,000, the same fee she received in 2009.

Pay to executive directors for the year fell to €1 million from €6.5 million the previous year.

The 2009 figure included the €2.9 million transfer value of an increase in an accrued pension belonging to former chief executive Denis Casey who also received €1.2 million for lieu of notice.

Mr Casey resigned from IL&P in February over the €7 billion deposits with Anglo Irish Bank at its accounting year-end at September 30th, 2008, which flattered that bank’s books, making Anglo look healthier than it was.

No bonuses were paid to executive directors or senior executives of IL&P in 2009 or 2010, according to the annual report.

The company has asked pay consultants Tower Watson to review its bonus and long-term incentive policy and to recommend changes to pay, bearing in mind the risks of the business and the group’s business plan.

The review is expected to be completed by the end of next month.

The number of employees at IL&P fell to 4,654 at the end of 2010 from 5,329 two years earlier.

The company told shareholders in the report that the Minister for Finance may direct the company to take actions under the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act which may affect their pre-existing and contractual rights.