Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will start by saying that the salary offered originally was not €89,000. To correct the record, it was in the range of €106,000 to €127,000. Second, the figures discussed at the committee yesterday are far in excess of the salaries paid to any other national cybersecurity centre of comparable size across Europe. We discussed that with our partners yesterday. Certainly, I will be recommending an increase in the salary, but it is not a directly comparable role with somebody who is in charge of security in a commercial operation.

They face a different set of challenges. This job will involve aspects of diplomacy, internal Government oversight, management and so on. It is not a purely technical role. We have a chief technical officer. The jobs are not directly equivalent but I take on board what is being said. I will be recommending a higher salary for it.