The Government's Pay Paradox: ESB CEO Gets 29% Rise as Record Households Can't Pay Bills

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers signed off on a 29% pay rise for ESB chief executive Paddy Hayes in July — boosting his salary from €318,083 to €410,000. The sanction landed just as the Commission for Regulation of Utilities revealed that 322,298 households — a record 14% of all domestic electricity customers — are now in arrears on their bills. It's a timing problem that practically writes the opposition's attack ads for them.

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