Enterprise Ireland wanted to raise the salary for their chief executive position by over €70,000 but were warned there was little chance of it being approved.
The agency told the Department of Enterprise late last year they were looking to recruit their new boss with a pay package worth €300,000 per year.
In a sanction request last December, they said they were looking to “attract the highest possible calibre of candidates” including CEOs from the private sector.
It said the €300,000 package was not at private sector standards but “would send a strong signal to the candidate market for this role.”
The Department of Enterprise responded to say that a robust business case would be needed for raising the salary up from the agreed level of around €230,000 per year.
Two weeks later, Enterprise Ireland submitted a revised document, this time saying they were looking for a salary of €270,000.
The sanction request said: “The CEO role is critical to the growth of the Irish economy while ensuring the effective leadership, direction, governance, client service delivery and internal transformation of the agency.”
The Department of Enterprise cautioned however there was almost no chance of getting an enhanced pay package approved by the Department of Public Expenditure.
A senior official said it was a “substantial increase in pay” that would mean the CEO was paid more than a department secretary general or the boss of the IDA.
An email in January said: “We envision [the Department of Public Expenditure] will have significant concerns with the proposed salary, particularly, as it could have wider public sector pay implications whereby other non-commercial semi state agencies could cite Enterprise Ireland when making future business cases.
“While the rationale outlined in the business case is well founded and has merit, [we think the department] will be reluctant to sanction the post given the high base salary requested.”