CEOs across Ireland’s semi-state sector are set to see significant pay increases, with some salaries potentially approaching €400,000.

Tabitha Monahan, political reporter with the Irish Independent, told The Anton Savage Show that semi-state companies such as Dublin Bus and RTÉ are lined up for large pay rises. 

RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst could see his salary rise from €250,000 to €300,000, with additional benefits, though the increase is still under ministerial consideration. 

Dublin Bus CEO Billy Han’s pay recently increased from €200,000 to €260,000, while the Irish National Stud CEO received a 53.7% rise to €170,000.

Monahan noted that while these figures might seem substantial, they reflect the need for the state to remain competitive with the private sector. 

“The private sector offerings for CEOs are multiples of what the state pays,” she said, emphasising the challenge of attracting top talent without competitive salaries.

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Danny McConnell, editor of the Business Post, agreed, noting the legacy of Ireland’s financial crash and the resulting public backlash against high executive pay. 

“We’re 15 years on from the crash, the country is growing, and we need good people. A really good chief executive can transform a company,” he said. 

McConnell looked at examples such as David McRedmond at An Post and Sean Sweeney, hired to lead the Metrolink project, as executives whose leadership justified a pay rise.

"This is the biggest infrastructure project [Ireland has ever seen], if Sean Sweeney delivers this, it will have been money well spent," he added.

While private companies can more easily link pay to performance, semi-state roles lack the same mechanisms for accountability. 

The challenges of pay structures in the public sector were also touched on. 

Unlike private companies, semi-state organisations find it harder to tie pay to performance. 

In the private sector, CEOs can be fired if they don’t meet goals, but in public organisations, it’s not as straightforward.

McConnell added that RTÉ received a" €725 million bailout", which adds to public scrutiny over CEO pay.

“Taxpayers want to know they’re getting value for money,” said Monahan, acknowledging the sensitivity around semi-state executive pay.