Ivor Callely
Ceist:43 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Finance the average industrial wage in 1995; and the comparative figure for the average wage of the Taoiseach and Ministers and their programme managers in 1995. [7607/96]
Written Answers. - Average Industrial Wage.
The latest figures available from the Central Statistics Office on industrial earnings relate to June 1995 when the annualised average gross earnings was £14,101 (based on all industrial workers in all industries). The corresponding figure for managerial staff was £26,011.
It should be noted that the CSO industrial earnings figures are not representative figures for pay levels in the private sector as a whole, excluding for example, the services sector.
The total salary of the Taoiseach in 1995 averaged £83,781 while that of a Minister was £66,827. The total salary of the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs averaged £71,671. In each case an element of £32,918 is included in the total salary being the average TD's salary in that year.
With regard to programme managers, the arrangements for their remuneration provide that they continue to receive their existing salary plus an attraction allowance of circa 10 per cent subject, in most cases, to a ceiling of £43,752, the last point on the principal (higher) scale, with due allowance for vouched pension contributions. As previously indicated to this House, different arrangements apply to the programme managers of the Taoiseach and Tánaiste. The average salary of the programme managers of the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Ministers in 1995, was of the order of £45,000.