Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 134: To ask the Minister for Finance if any senior bankers are in receipt of a total remuneration including salaries, pension contributions and other allowances which are in excess of €500,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18114/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the respective covered institutions that the details that the Deputy seeks are set out in the recently published annual accounts for 2011 of the respective institutions. For ease of reference the relevant pages are:

In addition to the information contained in the 2011 Annual Report, I am informed by Allied Irish Banks that there are three (3) other individuals who are in receipt of total remuneration including pension contribution of over €500,000 on the basis of pre-existing contracts. None of these individuals are in receipt of a base salary of over €500,000.

Previous Government policy on remuneration at the covered institutions was dictated initially by the recommendations of Covered Institutions Remuneration Oversight Committee. On foot of these recommendations the then Government decided to implement a base salary cap of €500,000 on senior executives. Consequent on the State's investment in AIB in December 2010 this policy was extended so that no employee may earn aggregate remuneration (excluding pension contributions) but including without limitation annual base salary, bonuses and variable pay components in excess of €500,000.

Following on the State's further investment in AIB, BoI and IL&P of Summer 2011, this policy – which is present Government policy - was amended further to state that no employee may receive total aggregate remuneration (excluding pension contributions) but including without limitation annual base salary, employment bonuses, commission payments and fringe benefits in excess of €500,000.

The Government's bona fides in this area have been honoured by the remuneration packages agreed recently for the respective Chief Executive Officer positions at AIB and Permanent Trustee Savings Bank being contained within these parameters.

When setting such thresholds, the Deputy will appreciate that cognisance has to be taken of the contractual situation of those employees already in situ. Accordingly, some individuals at the covered institutions are still in receipt of remuneration packages exceeding these limits on the basis of pre-existing contractual rights or having taken some reductions but still above the threshold. In instances such as these, there are provisions in the agreements underpinning the State's investment in the institutions that for a period of at least two years the remuneration of those individuals may not increase, unless otherwise required by law and any proposal to increase such persons remuneration after that time will be subject to agreement.