Highest-earning civil servant Robert Watt to receive seven pay increases, taking salary up to €326,000

Mr Watt, who is secretary general at the Department of Health, is ­currently paid €297,869 a year, according to a Department of Public Expenditure spokesperson.

He will benefit from seven pay rises worth a total of 9.25pc under a new public sector wage deal that runs up to the middle of 2026, bringing his salary to around €326,000.

When asked if he will benefit from pay rises in the new wage agreement, the spokesperson said: “The Public Service Agreement 2024 to 2026 will apply to all civil servants, including secretaries general.”

The spokesperson did not respond to a request for details of the salary ­after the increases.

The 9.25pc pay rises due under the deal include increases of 2.25pc, 1pc and 1pc this year, 2pc, and 1pc next year and two 1pc pay rises in 2026.

Mr Watt’s salary is not included in a department circular that gives the pay scales for all roles in the civil service, ­including secretaries general.

The other secretaries general are graded at three levels.

The salary of a level-one secretary general is currently €258,825.

A level-two secretary general is paid €243,600 and those at level three receive €230,780 a year.

Mr Watt’s salary remained static while a review of senior public servants’ pay took place last year.

A Department of Expenditure spokesperson said at the time that his pay did not change on March 1 when a 2pc pay rise came into effect.

She said this was in light of the continuing work of an independent review panel.

She added that the application of a department circular confirming the public service pay increase “shall not have the effect of increasing the ­salary of a serving secretary general in the civil service to a salary rate above the current highest rate that applies to a secretary general post, i.e. €297,869”.

A 1.5pc pay rise due under the pay deal, Building Momentum, on October 1 does not appear to have been applied to the salary.

Mr Watt previously received a pay rise of €81,000 when he moved from his former role as secretary general at the Department of Public Expenditure to the Department of Health in 2021.

He said he would waive the increase until the economy began to recover and unemployment fell. He later revealed he was taking the full salary.

The Joint Committee on Finance found there was a lack of ­transparency and accountability involved in the appointment. It found the only rationale in relation to the enhanced salary seemed to be to ensure the total salary on offer was below €300,000.

Meanwhile, the independent review panel on Senior Public Service Recruitment and Pay Processes found there was a need for greater transparency and “clear ownership” of the overall recruitment and appointment process.

It said all secretary general appointments not currently made following a Top Level Appointments Committee process should require one in future.

The report said a review body on higher remuneration should be re-established on a legal basis to advise the minister on remuneration arrangements. It said it should be tasked with reviewing the grading of secretaries general as a priority.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s salary is currently €233,828 a year, but he is due to gift back €24,911 to the State.

This is due to a government decision four years ago that the Taoiseach and ministers’ pay should be curbed by waiving 10pc a year.