Newton's OpticHaving worked assiduously on the figures, Newton Emersonfinds that the Taoiseach is underpaid
It might seem strange that the Taoiseach is paid more than the US president, but the explanation is surprisingly simple.
George Bush governs a country of 300 million people. Bertie Ahern governs a country of four million people. If Mr Bush sets the benchmark for a world leader's public sector pay, then Mr Ahern would need to govern 333 million people to justify earning 11 per cent more than the occupant of the White House.
But this fails to account for the many people outside the State yet within Mr Ahern's control. Under present EU voting arrangements, Ireland bears 1/27th of the responsibility for governing 494 million people.
This effectively adds 18 million to Mr Ahern's total, bringing it up to 22 million. Mr Ahern has also held the rotating presidency of the EU for six months out of his 10 years in office, making him president-on-average of 1/20th of its population over the entire period. This adds a further 25 million to his total, bringing it up to 47 million.
The Irish diaspora beyond Europe has been conservatively estimated at 80 million people. In 1998, under Mr Ahern's leadership, Article 2 of the Irish Constitution was amended to read: "Furthermore, the Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage." These 80 million people cannot expect to be cherished by the Irish nation unless the leader of the Irish nation receives commensurate compensation.
This brings Mr Ahern's total up to 127 million.
Finally, Mr Ahern has just announced that Ireland's main party of Government will enter politics in the United Kingdom, adding 60 million people to his burden of office. This brings his total up to 187 million.
The final figure still falls some way short of the population of the United States. However, Dr Pat Answer of Dublin Sunday Business College believes that a direct comparison is unfair.
"Mr Bush is only head of the executive branch of government," Dr Answer said.
"Mr Ahern is head of both the executive branch and the legislative branch, so you should multiply his 187 million by two for a standardised measure, giving a total of 374 million equivalent Americans governed. From this, it would appear that Mr Ahern is actually somewhat underpaid."
While numbers alone can easily explain the Taoiseach's salary increase, plus any subsequent increase, mere numbers can also mask the powerful moral argument behind those increases.
"The best reason to pay our leaders well is to discourage corruption," Dr Answer explained.
"This principle of enlightened self-interest is applied by political elites across the world, just as it applies in your own daily life.
"For example, suppose you work in a shop. You tell your boss that you want a raise or you'll just take the money out of the till.
"Obviously, your boss will agree at once. Surely our leaders deserve nothing less?"
Already there are signs that the Taoiseach's new salary has improved standards in public office.
Reports from Drumcondra indicate that over the past week nobody has redecorated a house they don't own with money that nobody gave them.
"That's all the convincing I need," Dr Answer said.
"A Bertie in hand is worth two times a Bush."