Recently disclosed data showcases that over €56 million was disbursed by DAA, the state-owned airport operator, under redundancy and exit agreements for 166 employees in recent times. The particulars came to light in response to several legislative enquiries this week.
According to Eamon Ryan, Minister for Transport, and Catherine Murphy of the Social Democrats, 99 DAA employees departed in 2019 and 2020 under voluntary early retirement and severance plans, costing a total of €31.71 million. These expenditures amounted to an average disbursement of over €320,000 per person.
In the subsequent year of 2021, DAA spent just above €20 million on voluntary severance and early retirement plans for 54 staff members, an average of just above €370,000. Furthermore, in 2022, 13 employees received payouts amounting to €4.7 million, averaging just over €361,500 per person, under similar circumstances.
Apart from managing Dublin and Cork Airports, DAA also operates duty-free shops through its subsidiary, Aer Rianta. Furthermore, Mr Ryan indicated that between 2019 and 2023, redundancy or exit packages were provided to seven employees by the Dublin Port Company, amounting to €1.759 million collectively, or more than €251,000 per person on average.
On top of that, last year, the Shannon Airport Group paid a total of €498,000 to two employees as part of a voluntary severance agreement. Information revealed this week also displayed that a senior market advisor in an overseas position with Enterprise Ireland received a payment of €316,882. This payout, as stated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, was a locally legislated end of service payment, with no discretion involved. The person in question had been in the agency’s service for 35 years.
In a statement, Ms Murphy stated that the figures provided by the Department of Transport regarding the DAA, Shannon and Dublin Port required further investigation. She stressed the need for details beyond just figures, referencing a 2015 special report by the Comptroller & Auditor General on how public sector bodies manage severance payments.
The report reveals that ‘views from the Department of Finance suggest that severance compensations or terms for early retirement could apply to the CEOs of state-run entities, to a certain extent and without the department’s consent’. This may suggest a gap in monitoring and regulations,’ she noted.
‘Furthermore, the Minister’s reply doesn’t provide any clarity on whether a position has been vacated due to redundancy, which is highly important amid the controversy surrounding the redundancy (VER) package given to an executive at RTÉ, and which was subsequently backfilled. I’ve requested for more precise information categorising the payments by amount and type.”
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