£1,000 per day for some chairs

Public Bodies and Public Appointments Annual Report 2009/10 was published by the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) last week and brings together for the first time the financial reports for publicly funded bodies for the year ending March 31, 2010.

It reveals the generous salaries enjoyed by the Chief Executives of Ilex (£118,000), the Western Education and Library Board (£107,198) and the Western Trust (£75k-£150k) last year and also reveals how several members of public bodies here are being paid hundreds and sometimes up to a thousand pounds for working just one day.

Included in the report is audited information for many taxpayer-funded organisations with jurisdiction over the Londonderry area.

These include the Ilex Urban regeneration company, WELB, WHSCT and the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners.

The report shows that last year WELB Chief Executive Barry Mulholland was paid £107,198 for overseeing 5,657 permanent and 1,838 temporary staff and his responsibility for over £361m in gross expenditure.

Chairman of WELB Rev. R. Herron for the period October 8, 2009 - May 13, 2010 was also paid £10,000 a year along with travel and subsistence expenses. This works out at £1,000 for every meeting chaired.

The document does not get into the details of WHSCT Chief Executive Elaine Way’s salary beyond saying Trust bosses are paid between £75k and £150k although the Sentinel recently reported how a research paper by Dr Janice Thompson and Helena Maginness revealed she was paid between £115,000 and £120,000.

But the report does give details of the salary of the Western Trust Board chairman Gerard McGuckian who was last year paid £29,131 per year and was on a three day week in the role - that worked out at over £180 a day. His appointment expires in July 2014.

Meanwhile seven Non Executive Directors of the Western Trust were paid £7,803 per year for working one day a week - that worked out at £150 a day.

Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners chairman Garvan O’Doherty received a salary of £21,316 per year for his work at the head of the body last year (£1,332.25 a day), according to the report.

Eight commissioners - William Hay, Mary Bradley, Lynn Fleming, Joe McKeever, Seamus Bovaird, Roy Divine, John Gilliland and Brian McGrath - received £7,104 last year (£507 a day) for working 16 days of the year.

Elsewhere the report shows how Ilex Chief Executive Aideen McGinley was on £118,000 last year.

Ilex Chairman Roy McNulty was on £800 a day. His workload was reduced from 8/10 days per month to just 6/8 days per month in November 2009, the report states.

This meant his earning potential dipped from between £76,800 and £96,000 for 96-120 days of work per year to between £57,600 and £76,800 for 72-96 days of work per year.

Three Non Executive Members of Ilex, M. Heaney, J. McDaid and M. McNulty were also entitled to £400 per day for two days of work per month.

The OFMDFM Central Appointments Unit last week published the Annual Report on Public Bodies and Public Appointments for the year ending 31 March 2010.

It stated it was the first time that information on Public Bodies and Public Appointments has been detailed in the same document and provides a more joined up view of the position for readers. The Annual Report in full is available on online at the OFMDFM website.