Why is the city manager Joe MacGrath paid the same salary as the Waterford city manager and a lower salary than the Limerick manager, when Galway has a larger size and population?
This is the view of Green Party senator Niall Ó Brolcháin who was commenting on the Department of the Environment’s City and County Managers (Remuneration ) (No 2 ) order 2010.
According to the document, since January 1 this year, the annual salary of the Dublin city manager will be €189,301. The salary for the Cork county manager, the Fingal county manager, and the South Dublin county manager will be €162,062.
The managers of the Cork city council and the county managers of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Kildare, and Meath is €153,260.
The Limerick city manager receives an annual salary of €142,469, however the city managers of Galway and Waterford is €132,511.
Sen Ó Brolcháin said he was “surprised” the Galway city manager is “of a lower grade than the Limerick city manager” despite the larger population in Galway city.
However he said he was “also surprised” that Mr MacGrath “gets paid more than twice” a senator’s salary while councillors get paid one quarter of a senator’s salary.
“In other words,” Sen Ó Brolcháin said, “he gets paid eight times as much as a councillor. Curious.”
