Staffing and Remuneration

The NTMA executes its mandates through five business units: the Funding and Debt Management Unit, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund Unit, the National Development Finance Agency, NewERA and the State Claims Agency. The NTMA’s business units are supported by its corporate functions which provide services across Finance, Operations, Information Technology, Risk, HR, Legal, Compliance, Communications and Internal Audit.

A number of NTMA staff are on secondment to the Department of Finance following the revocation of the delegation of banking system functions of the Minister for Finance to the NTMA from August 2011.

The NTMA assigns staff to the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and also provides them with business and support services and systems. NAMA and the SBCI reimburse the NTMA the costs of these services (including staff costs). Both NAMA and the SBCI are independent entities and have their own separate boards.

Other than staff assigned to NAMA and the SBCI, the NTMA had 431 employees at end-2015. 341 employees were assigned to NAMA and 9 employees were assigned to the SBCI.

The NTMA’s remuneration model is based on confidential, individually negotiated employment contracts, with competitive, market-aligned remuneration, subject to the FEMPI Acts. The typical remuneration package comprises a fixed base salary and provision for discretionary performance related pay. In a limited number of cases other allowances or benefits are paid.

The NTMA’s objective is to ensure that its remuneration arrangements facilitate it in attracting, developing and retaining high performing and motivated employees, with appropriate skills and experience, so as to ensure that the NTMA can discharge fully its statutory functions in an effective and efficient manner, while complying with applicable law, including in particular, the FEMPI legislation. It aims to operate a remuneration system which:

  • allows the NTMA to compete effectively in the labour market and to recruit and retain high calibre employees.
  • reflects the NTMA’s objectives for good corporate governance.
  • manages remuneration in an appropriate manner and encourages a high level of performance.
  • is consistent with and promotes sound and effective risk management.

Performance related payments are intended to reward exceptional performance having regard to the employee’s own performance, the performance of the employee’s area of responsibility, and the overall performance of the NTMA. Performance related payments are made in accordance with parameters approved by the Agency’s non-executive Remuneration Committee. The overall amount of performance related payments made in respect of any year is also subject to the approval of the Remuneration Committee.

The NTMA made performance-related payments to 60 staff in 2016 in respect of 2015. These payments, in aggregate, totalled €492,500. No performance related payments were made to any member of the senior management team.

Energy Usage

The NTMA operates from Treasury Building on Grand Canal Street Dublin 2 where it leases space on five floors. In 2015 the NTMA consumed 1,701,446 kWh of electricity representing an average consumption of 2,173 kWh per employee. This compares with an average consumption of 2,581 kWh per employee in 2014 – a reduction of 15.8% per employee.

Air conditioning in the building is provided by the landlord and is powered by natural gas.

In 2015 the landlord carried out feasibility studies on upgrading the air handling units for all the floors in Treasury Building with a view to improving energy performance. Modifications included fitting energy efficient variable speed drives to the motors of some of the air handling units.

In 2016 the landlord is fitting energy efficient variable speed drives to the remainder of the air handling units in Treasury Building.

During 2015 the NTMA made performance related payments to 16 staff totalling, in aggregate, €79,200 in respect of 2014. Again, no performance related payments were made to any member of the senior management team. Performance related payments made during 2015 are reflected in the Total Remuneration column in the table below.

NTMA Remuneration at End-2015
Base
Salary
Total
Remuneration
up to €50,000 121 120
€50,001 to €75,000 137 127
€75,001 to €100,000 84 80
€100,001 to €125,000 31 39
€125,001 to €150,000 22 27
€150,001 to €175,000 12 13
€175,001 to €200,000 14 9
€200,001 to €225,000 1 3
€225,001 to €250,000 1 3
€250,001 to €275,000 3 1
€275,001 to €300,000 2 2
€300,001 to €325,000 1 5
€325,001 to €350,000 1 0
€350,001 to €375,000 0 1
€375,001 to €400,000 0 0
€400,001 to €425,000 0 0
€425,001 to €450,000 0 0
€450,001 to €475,000 0 0
€475,001 to €500,000 1 1
Total 431 431

Note: Base salary is set out on a pro-rata basis. Total remuneration includes base salary and any other taxable benefits paid to employees (including performance related payments paid in 2015 in respect of 2014). It does not include employer pension contributions. The public service pension related deduction is applied to NTMA employees.

Remuneration of staff assigned to NAMA is set out in the table below.

NAMA Remuneration at End-2015
Base
Salary
Total
Remuneration
up to €50,000 42 42
€50,001 to €75,000 95 95
€75,001 to €100,000 97 96
€100,001 to €125,000 51 52
€125,001 to €150,000 35 33
€150,001 to €175,000 12 11
€175,001 to €200,000 4 5
€200,001 to €225,000 2 3
€225,001 to €250,000 1 1
€250,001 to €275,000 1 2
€275,001 to €300,000 0 0
€300,001 to €325,000 0 0
€325,001 to €350,000 0 0
€350,001 to €375,000 0 0
€375,001 to €400,000 1 0
€400,001 to €425,000 0 1
Total 341 341

Note: Base salary is set out on a pro-rata basis. Total remuneration includes base salary and any other taxable benefits paid to employees. It does not include employer pension contributions. The public service pension related deduction is applied to NTMA employees.