Value for money, NAMA-style

An unemployed professional man recently applied for a position in NAMA, and was interviewed.  He expected to be asked at some stage what his salary expectations were for the position, and so had rehearsed this conversation.  As he wanted the job, he had decided to pitch himself at a reasonably competitive level of €75,000 to €80,000 annually, taking into account the nature and extent of his professional experience to date.

Imagine his surprise, therefore, when (a) salary was not discussed, (b) he was in due course told he had been successful in his job application and (c) the starting salary would be €150,000.

It is believed that the chief executive of NAMA Brendan McDonagh earns about €500,000 annually.