*Ray O’Driscoll.
SHANNON AIRPORT Group’s CEO has received a €35,000 increase in pay to €225,000.
That is according to figures released by the Department of Transport which has confirmed that the Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien (FF) has now sanctioned pay increased for eight CEOs of commercial state bodies.
The cumulative pay increase for the eight CEOs totals €333,000.
Minister O’Brien sanctioned the pay increase for the role of Shannon Airport Group CEO in January of this year but the Department at the time did not make public the pay increase as the Shannon Group was in the process of appointing a new CEO at the time.
In April, the board of the Shannon Airport Group announced that then interim CEO, Ray O’Driscoll has been appointed full-time to the job.
Mr O’Driscoll had been serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer of The Shannon Airport Group since September 2025, following the departure of former CEO Mary Considine.
The €225,000 salary does not include pension contributions and other taxable benefits.
The 2025 remuneration package for the role of CEO at the Shannon Group totalled €264,983 made up of the then salary of €190,000, pension contributions and other taxable benefits of €74,983.
The pay rise for the CEO of the Shannon Group arises from a Government review of the pay for CEOs of commercial state bodies.
Mr O’Driscoll’s predecessor in the role at Shannon Group, Mary Considine has also benefited from the pay overhaul for CEOs at commercial state bodies.
Ms Considine is now CEO at Iarnród Éireann and the pay for the role of CEO at Iarnród Éireann increased from €225,000 to €300,000 in August of last year.
In total, Minister O’Brien has sanctioned pay rises for CEO for eight commercial state bodies and along with the Shannon Group, they are Iarnród Éireann, Bus Éireann, Bus Átha Cliath, CIÉ, the Dublin Port Company, the Port of Waterford Company and the Port of Cork company.
The pay awards come against the background of there being no systematic review of CEO remuneration since 2011 and any increase in salary since that time has taken place on a case-by-case basis.
Following a Senior Posts Remuneration Committee (SPRC) performing a review of the remuneration arrangements for the CEOs of commercial state bodies, board of the commercial state bodies can send proposals to the relevant line Department setting out the proposed new salary and supporting rationale.
The relevant line Department then undertakes an assessment of the proposal, and the relevant Minister subsequently considers the Board’s recommendation, the Department’s analysis, and input from NewERA before making a final decision.
Following this process, recommendations by the relevant Minister are then submitted to Minister for Public Expenditure, Jack Chambers
Prior to stepping into the interim role at the Shannon Group, Mr O’Driscoll served as Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer, bringing extensive leadership experience across airport operations, commercial development, strategic planning and organisational governance.
Mr O’Driscoll first joined The Shannon Airport Group in 2014 as Managing Director of Shannon Commercial Enterprises, the Group’s commercial property division.
