'Wholly unfair' that An Post CEO only paid €250k per year while others get wage hikes, chair says
Ken Foxe
The chair of An Post said it was “wholly unfair” that the company’s CEO was only being paid €250,000 a year while other semi-state bosses were having their wages hiked.
In discussions with the government, chairman Kevin Mulvey said the package for An Post’s boss had been in place since 2019 without any increase.
He said there had been “no change to reflect market conditions, competitor activity, acknowledgement of performance history, experience and length of time in the post.”
Mr Mulvey said the package for outgoing CEO David McRedmond included a €250,000 per year salary with a company car and a 25 per cent private pension plan.
However, he told Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers these wages had already been exceeded at other commercial semi-states where €300,000-a-year salaries were being awarded.
He said it was “wholly unfair” that an incumbent CEO would be left behind while others were given better deals.
Mr Mulvey also said An Post was about to launch a competition for a new chief executive and the existing salary was unlikely to be sufficient.
His letter, sent in March, said: “It is highly unlikely that we will be able to attract the calibre of candidate we need to succeed the current CEO on this package.”
He said that David McRedmond had been “extremely patient” while successive chairs of An Post had sought a fairer reward for his services.
In the letter, Mr Mulvey put forward a new suggested salary for the post; however, the figure has been redacted from FOI records.
Explaining the figure, he wrote: “Whilst this is still not sufficient in my opinion it does show that the department recognises the inequity that now exists and also supports the chair and board of An Post to be able to attract the calibre we need to succeed the current CEO.”
In a response in April, Environment Minister Darragh O’Brien said it would not “be appropriate to consider your request at this time.”
Mr O’Brien said there was an independent review underway – since completed – into pay rates for chief executives in the commercial semi-state sector.
Since the correspondence was exchanged, An Post boss David McRedmond announced he was to step down from his role.
Early this month, the postal service advertised for a new CEO; however, no salary for the role was specified.
Asked about the records, the Department of Culture, Communications, and Sport – which now has responsibility for An Post – said the remuneration “has not yet been confirmed.”
A spokesman said: “The contract for the CEO position [is] subject to the approval of the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport and the Minister for Public Expenditure.”
He said pay for top managers in commercial semi-states remains under review as part of an ongoing process.
The spokesman added: “The department welcomes that An Post has leveraged its operations to develop its parcel and ecommerce delivery and hopes to see the benefits of this for the company, network, and its consumers.
“The department recognises the work of the current CEO in driving transformation in the business while managing the global headwinds mentioned above and hopes the transformative change can continue into the next CEO’s term.”
