The government decision to impose a ceiling of €500,000 on the remuneration of bankers is a step in the right direction, although many members of the public will still regard these levels of payment as excessive, particularly having regard to the role played by many senior bankers in creating our current economic crisis.

The Labour Party has been campaigning since last September for a ceiling on salary levels for bankers and we believe that an upper level linked to the remuneration package of the Minister for Finance (around €250,000) would have been more appropriate. The government was clearly reluctant to take any action on this issue at all on this issue and has been forced to move by the Labour Party campaign and the strength of public opinion.

The report of the Covered Institution Remuneration Oversight Committee, published today, confirms that salaries paid to many Irish bankers were higher than those paid to banking executives in the UK and in other companies of similar size in Ireland. While the new ceiling will mean a significant drop in the remuneration packages of senior bankers, they will still be among the best paid executives in the country.

The Labour Party will be seeking assurances from the government that these are genuinely the maximum levels of remuneration and are fully taxable. There must be no hidden bonuses and no phoney expenses.