National Asset Management Agency (Nama) CEO Brendan McDonagh has refused to say if he will take a cut to his €430,000 salary when he returns to the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), saying he was "not prepared to discuss that," writes Brian Mahon.
Earlier this year Housing Minister James Browne flagged that McDonagh, who currently heads up Nama, was his preferred candidate to lead the new Housing Activation Office in his department.
However, McDonagh withdrew his name for consideration after it was revealed he would retain his €430,000 salary in the new role, and following reports in website The Ditch that he was renting out a house for €10,000 a week.
McDonagh said there was a lot of speculation in newspapers that he was the preferred candidate, but added that no one had discussed this with him.
He told the Oireachtas Committee on Finance that he met with the secretary general of the Department of Housing on April 10, before having a conversation with Minister Browne on April 16.
"This was not a role I sought or ever canvassed for," he said. "I am not a political person. I believe I'm a public servant, and I didn't want the story to be out about me. As I advised the minister on May 1, I really wasn't really interested... I can honestly say there was no discussion about my salary with Minister Browne." He repeatedly declined to say whether he'd be earning the same salary he now makes with Nama when he returns to the NTMA.
Asked by Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty if reports that his salary would be cut, and others from The Ditch about a house he was renting out, had influenced his decision to step back, he said: "Neither of those issues had affected my decision.
"In terms of my salary with NTMA, it is not disclosable, because I will not be the accountable person as another person is the chief executive of the NTMA... So that's as much as I'm prepared to say. I'm not prepared to discuss that, because this is a matter between myself and the NTMA."
Photo: Brendan McDonagh. (Pic: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie)
