The average remuneration of the executive directors of The Irish Times Ltd rose from €346,000 to €384,000 last year. Seven executives shared total remuneration of €2.687 million in 2003, compared to €3.118 million shared by nine executives in 2002, according to the accounts.

The figures for 2003 include performance-related pay of €418,000, compared to €621,000 in 2002. The company has disclosed the executive directors' individual salaries but not their performance-related pay, benefits in kind and pension contributions.

The two highest-paid executives were the editor of The Irish Times, Ms Geraldine Kennedy, and the managing director of The Irish Times Ltd, Ms Maeve Donovan, who both received base salaries of €308,000, compared to €296,000 in 2002.

The deputy managing director, Mr Michael Austen, was paid €231,000, up from €222,000. The finance director, Mr Liam Kavanagh, received €185,000 compared to €178,000 in 2002. Deputy editor, Mr Paul O'Neill's salary was €132,000, although he was only a director for two months of the year. Mr Eoin McVey, a managing editor, received €117,000, up from €112,000 in 2002.

All seven executive directors and the seven non-executive directors received board fees which averaged €13,616, up from €12,842 in 2002. The chairman of The Irish Times Ltd, Mr Brian Patterson, was paid fees of €9,100 and also received a salary of €95,000, unchanged on 2002.

Prof David McConnell, who is chairman of and a director of The Irish Times Ltd, received fees of €9,100. He was paid €44,000, unchanged on 2002, for his role at The Irish Times Trust, which is the owner of The Irish Times Ltd.