Taoiseach Brian Cowen to take six per cent pay cut

Following the budget, the salaries of ministers will be reduced by €10,000 while the Taoiseach will take a €14,000 pay-cut.

“This brings the overall reduction on the gross pay of the Taoiseach to over €90,000 and in the case of Ministers to over €60,000,” Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan contended.

Cowen’s salary still compares favourably with other Heads of State, the UK’s David Cameron earns €172,000 (€25,000 less than Mary Coughlan), while Spain’s José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero earns a mere €92,000.

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has moved to limit salaries in the public sector to €250,000, though he accepted that there were “issues about the contractual position of incumbent post holders in State agencies”.

Anyone who gains employment in the public service from now on will earn 10 per cent less than the current rate.