The Government has signed off on a €50,000 increase for the salary of the new chief executive of EirGrid, the State company that develops, manages and operates the electricity grid in Ireland.
The Irish Times understands that Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe agreed to set the new pay rate at about €300,000 per year, following representations made by Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan.
This compares with the €240,000 a year salary that the Taoiseach earns.
EirGrid chairman Brendan Tuohy told the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications in June that the salary of €250,000 paid to the previous chief executive was set at an “inadequate level to attract the type of candidate that we would consider the role requires, particularly if we are interested in enticing international candidates”.
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A process to recruit a new chief executive of EirGrid has been under way over the last few weeks.
Former EirGrid chief executive Mark Foley stepped down from the role in April.
A drink driving charge was dismissed against Mr Foley, of Hunters Leap, Newcastle, Co Wicklow, at Dún Laoghaire District Court on Tuesday after a judge ruled that a blood test, which showed that he was more than four times over the legal limit, was “not admissible” as evidence in the case.
The case against him was dismissed over the Garda’s failure to offer him a urine test.
[ EirGrid may call on emergency power this winterOpens in new window ]
Mr Foley was appointed to the top role at EirGrid for a seven-year term in 2018 on an annual salary of €200,000 which had been sanctioned by the Government in 2017.
However, newly released official files show that Mr Ryan had in more recent times sought Government approval to increase Mr Foley’s pay.
In May 2023, following a request from Mr Ryan to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr Donohoe provided sanction for a revised salary of €250,000 for the EirGrid chief executive post.
The Government files provide an insight into the interaction between departments and agencies in relation to pay rates for top-level posts in commercial State agencies.
Following the departure of Mr Foley in April 2024 EirGrid’s board, after discussions with an executive search company, put forward a draft role profile for the new chief executive.
[ Lobby group calls for dedicated energy ministerOpens in new window ]
Mr Tuohy told the secretary general of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, Oonagh Buckley, that the company was not in a position at that point “to advertise or, indeed, offer anything other than the base salary for the chief executive’s post”.
On July 17th last Mr Ryan wrote to Mr Donohoe about the EirGrid chief executive’s pay.
Mr Ryan said the EirGrid board “wish to set a salary level at a rate that they believe will give the company the greatest chance of success in attracting a suitably qualified candidate”.
The Minister said EirGrid played a critical role in Ireland’s electrical sector and within the Irish economy as a whole as it planned and operated the electricity transmission system in the country.
EirGrid was “fundamental” to the Government’s decarbonisation and climate action targets, he said.
In a briefing note for Mr Donohoe, his officials maintained that the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications had set out a number of arguments in favour of increasing the EirGrid chief executive’s pay.
The note said that these included “the significant responsibilities currently being undertaken by EirGrid and, very importantly, in terms of its new role as offshore grid developer, owner and operator” as well as the “substantial expected future growth and increased complexity that that role would bring”.
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