It should be noted that the Secretary General in the Department of Finance and the Secretary General, Public Service Management Division in the Department of the Finance both accepted a further voluntary reduction in their salaries, by way of a gift back to the Minister for Finance. This voluntary reduction reduces these salaries to €214,187 which is in line with other existing staff at the Secretary General, level 2, in other Departments. In order to provide an appropriate differential between levels, the Secretary General level 3 rate was also adjusted downwards for new appointees from the same date. This salary level, which applies to the grades of second secretary in the Department of Finance, was also reduced by 15% from €221,929 to €188,640 - a decrease of €33,289. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is currently examining the salary levels of certain Civil Service grades.

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