Unions have proposed a new higher income tax rate for those on very high incomes of over €1 million a year, after an ICTU report found the basic pay of chief executive officers increased by between 11% and 236% in eight of Ireland’s top 21 private sector companies over the last six years. Average private sector earnings increased by just 2% in the same period.

The report, “Because we’re worth it: The truth about CEO pay in Ireland", found that, in seven of 21 firms, the CEO earns more than 50 times as much as the average worker.

It says a 40-year career would not be enough for the average worker to match the CEO’s 2015 earnings in 11 of the companies studied. And the average Irish earner would take between 12 and 151 years to earn what many of the CEOs in question earned in a single year.

The report analyses the extent of high pay in 21 companies, which account for 95% of the value of the Irish stock exchange. It explains that there are five parts to executive pay: basic, bonus, long term investment plans, pension and benefits in kind.

Basic pay often accounts for just 30% of total executive remuneration packages, it says, with bonuses exceeding basic pay in many instances. The report also recommends that the remit of the Low Pay Commission be broadened to comprehend the ratio between the lowest and highest paid in society.