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Speaking at the launch of Teagasc’s Annual Report for 2015, Dr Cawley said it is difficult for any semi-state organisation to compete with private service pay.
“Look at those companies and the salaries and bonuses they pay to their top staff,” he said. “The public service cannot compete with that.
“There is no doubt that at the top level and even at the bottom level there is great demand for skilled people. They have a demand for high-class staff and private companies have to pay to get it and they do,” he continued.
“It may not be a popular thing to say but it’s difficult for any semi-state organisation to compete with that for a relatively narrow fee.”
Dr Cawley was referring to the embargo on semi-state company pay by the government. Teagasc had been under a staff number embargo since 2009, but this was lifted in 2015. However, there is still a cap on staff pay.
The starting salary in Teagasc, even for someone with a PhD, is around €31,500. Teagasc Director Professor Gerry Boyle said that for someone with a PhD, the starting salary should be more than that.
Anomaly
“It’s an anomaly due to the embargo on pay,” he said. “It’s going to be unwound, but we would prefer this was sooner rather than later. At the very least there should be some allowance for the years they spend doing the PhD but we’re working on that.”
Professor Boyle added that Teagasc has some discretion when it comes to pay at the highest level in the semi-state company. There is currently a cap up to the pay equivalent of the standard grade principal officer, but the company has discretion when it comes to setting the pay grades of higher grade principal officers.
“We would have some discretion when it comes to very senior people who are the head of programmes,” he said.
Director’s pay
Professor Gerry Boyle’s basic pay in 2015 was €139,000, down from €141,000 in 2014. After adding in the use of a company car this comes to €152,000 for 2015 and €153,000 for 2014.
Salaries paid to key management, which includes the directors and members of senior management came to €584,000 in 2015, down slightly on 2014. Some 222 employees were paid between €60,000 and €70,000; 99 employees were paid between €71,000 and €80,000, 28 were paid between €81,000 and €90,000; 37 were paid between €91,000 and €100,000; 19 were paid between €101,000 and €110,000; three were paid between €111,000 and 120,000; three were paid between €141,000 and €150,000 and one was paid between €151,000 and €160,000.
The average number of staff employed by Teagasc in 2015 was 1,178, up 25 on 2014. The number for 2015 is broken down in 676 in the professional sphere, 165 in the technical sphere, 195 in the administrative/clerical sphere and 142 in the farm/domestic sphere.
Teagasc has about 70 permanent teaching staff and it has had to employ an additional 70 staff to deal with a spike in demand for Green Cert courses over the past couple of years.
Professor Boyle said the company recruited an extra 75 staff in 2016, the first year in which Teagasc was able to recruit without an embargo since 2009. The 75 staff are equivalent to about two years' retirements. Professor Boyle added that some 31 staff are expected to retire from Teagasc next year and the company hopes to replace all of those.
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