One of the country’s top civil servants is no longer waiving an €81,000 pay increase he was given when he was appointed to a new role during the pandemic.
Robert Watt, who has been the Secretary General of the Department of Health since April 2021, now has a salary of €294,920.
Government Ministers faced scrutiny that Mr Watt received a €81,000 pay rise during the height of the pandemic when hundreds of thousands of people had lost their jobs.
He switched roles as secretary general at the department of public expenditure and reform to the department of health.
Mr Watt said at the time he would waive the increase “until the economy begins to recover and unemployment falls.”
Now, a spokesman for the Department of Health has confirmed Mr Watt is no longer waiving the additional €81,000.
A spokesman confirmed: “The Secretary General has confirmed that he is in receipt of the full salary for his role.”
Mr Watt’s €81,000 pay rise is twice the average industrial wage.
It comes as inflation in Ireland is at 5.5% - an all-time high since April 2001.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has faced two days of questioning by Opposition leaders in the Dáil about what he is going to do to help people who have witnessed their household bills rise significantly and are struggling financially.
Latest data from the Consumer Price Index and from the CSO show the cost of food, travel, accommodation and fuel has increased.
The Government has agreed to give households a one-off €100 credit towards energy bills to help with all-time energy bills.
Government Ministers have been under pressure in recent days to confirm if Mr Watt has taken the pay rise.
Tanáiste Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday it was a personal matter and decision for Mr Watt whether he should reveal his salary and it was subject to GDPR.
However, his Fine Gael colleague, Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys said “transparency” is needed and she didn’t see any reason why top civil servants’ salaries shouldn’t be published.
She said: “My wages are there for everybody to see.
“As far as I know the wages of my constituency staff and the people who work with me are available for everyone to see, and I don’t see any reason why those at the top of the public service, that their wages shouldn’t also be available to people.
“I don’t see any reasons why they shouldn’t be published.”
