THE CHIEF executive of the National Treasury Management Agency, John Corrigan, waived a bonus payment of nearly €250,000 last year.
The agency released details for the first time of the 2010 bonuses approved for Mr Corrigan, as well as those of National Asset Management Agency chief executive Brendan McDonagh, and the seven other most senior executives in the agencies. The nine waived €905,000 in bonuses.
The largest bonus of €240,000 was to be paid to Mr Corrigan. Mr McDonagh’s bonus was set at €200,000, while National Development Finance Agency head Brian Murphy was due €60,000.
The late minister for finance Brian Lenihan approved the bonuses but the executives decided to forego them in February this year.
A spokesman said last night the agency was “acutely aware” of the financial challenge facing the State and was at the forefront of the State’s response to the crisis. He said the executives had foregone the bonuses in light of those circumstances.
Staff at the treasury agency and Nama have individual contracts, all with performance-related elements.
The pay cap for senior officials and executives in the public sector, announced by Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin last week, will not apply to the agency or Nama because of the individual nature of the contracts.
Mr Corrigan’s annual basic salary is €490,000. Mr McDonagh is paid €430,000, while Mr Murphy’s salary is €330,000.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said that some 14 executives employed by the agency and Nama had annual salaries of more than €250,000.
The average salary for the 350 employees at the NTMA and Nama is almost €100,000. The agencies awarded bonuses of almost €2 million in 2010, or an average of €7,681 per employee.
Separately, two chief executives, one of a commercial semi-State company, and the other of a State authority, had substantially higher total remuneration packages in 2010 than they had in 2009. The reason for the increase was that both were paid bonuses in 2010 that related to previous years.
Coillte chief executive David Gunning was paid a total package of €473,000 in 2010 compared with €417,000 in 2009. Some €56,000 of this was a bonus in respect of 2008, that had been deferred from 2009.
A spokesman said it had not been paid in 2009 because of the difficult trading conditions that year.
“In respect of 2010 no decision has yet been made whether a performance-related payment will be made,” said the spokesman.
Chief executive of the Irish Aviation Authority Eamonn Brennan was paid a total package of €391,000 in 2010, compared with €324,000 in 2009. The package included a bonus of €60,000 for the previous year.
Mr Brennan received no bonus in 2009 and the aviation authority was not in a position to furnish details last night as to why the 2009 bonus was paid in 2010 and if Mr Brennan would be entitled to a bonus for 2010.
The chief executive of Eirgrid, Dermot Byrne, who was paid a bonus of €23,000 for 2010, confirmed last night that he will not accept a bonus for 2011.
