Large pension payments to former taoisigh should be cut in line with public sector pension reductions but the Government has been legally advised to take proportionate action to reduce them, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton has said.

The Government understood the public anger over the pension payments to former taoisigh, said Mr Bruton, and has “sought to do everything possible within legal advice to deal with this”.

Speaking in Washington, the Minister – whose brother John will receive a reduced annual pension of ¤134,728 following a new plan to cut public pensions by 5 per cent – said that the reductions were in line with cuts being imposed on the pensions of serving politicians.

“Clearly these are construed as property rights so the Government is under an obligation to be proportionate in its action,”he added.

He was responding to a report in yesterday's Irish Times , which revealed that the pensions paid to former taoisigh Brian Cowen and Bertie Ahern rank among the highest in Europe.

Mr Cowen and Mr Ahern each receive annual pensions of ¤150,163 but this will drop to ¤142,655 under the plan to reduce public sector pensions.

These compare with £70,000 (¤80,000) paid to former British prime ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. Former leaders in Germany, Spain and Greece are also paid substantially less than their Irish counterparts.

Mr Bruton said that the Government was eager to reduce the pensions of former political leader and other public sector pensions.

“There is a real appetite to do that and make sure that the burden of adjustment is fairly spread and in particular borne by those who are on substantial pensions from the public service,” he said.

“There is an appetite to do that but we also realise that there are legal constraints of proportionality that have to be observed.”