How Appleby resigned, got a lucrative deal on his pension, then stayed on for six months

THE man who was at the helm of the Anglo Irish Bank investigation secured a lucrative €300,000 pension deal by resigning as director of corporate enforcement a day before being reappointed as acting director.

The arrangement secured by Paul Appleby in 2012 meant he avoided cuts to his pension that would otherwise have applied due to wage reductions brought in by the government.

The government of the time allowed him to leave on an early retirement scheme that was not actually open to his civil service grade as boss of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE).

And a deal was also struck that saw him stay on for six months in the role of director, while a replacement was found, despite his retirement.

As director of the ODCE, Mr Appleby was on a grade that was not entitled to retire until the age of 65.

However, under the terms of his contract he was entitled to return to his former civil service role as a principal officer on his director’s salary.

He resigned as director and returned to being a principal officer for just 24 hours before being reappointed as acting director of the ODCE for a further six months.

This meant he was able to avail of an early retirement scheme that allowed public servants to retire with pensions and lump sums based on their wages before pay cuts imposed during the recession.

As a result, his pension was based on his pre-pay cut director’s salary of €150,712, rather than the principal officer rate of €92,672.

He continued to be paid his salary during his six months as acting director.

Mr Appleby has now enjoyed benefits worth almost €590,000 since he retired five years ago. His annual pension is €73,000, on top of a €225,000 lump sum.