Trade unions and Opposition politicians have reacted angrily to the revelation yesterday that two Eircom executives received more than £1.7 million in pay and bonuses, despite the collapse of the Eircom share price, writes John Cradden.

The secretary of SIPTU's Aer Lingus branch, Mr Tony Walsh, said the revelation came at a sensitive time as Aer Lingus was being prepared for flotation.

"The prospect of management at Aer Lingus being seen to benefit from huge payments and bonuses as a result of privatisation would not be acceptable to SIPTU members at Aer Lingus," Mr Walsh said.

The Fine Gael deputy leader, Ms Nora Owen, said that substantial executive bonuses without a linkage to share performance must have come as incredible news to those who bought Eircom shares.

"The shareholders are entitled to full transparency about all arrangements made for both the chief executive and the board of directors. This kind of information should have been made public at the time of the flotation," Ms Owen said.