Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe would almost treble his pay if he took top IMF position

Mr Donohoe has refused to dismiss reports in ­international media that he opened talks about taking up the senior role, which comes with a massive $524,970 (€482,967) salary.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has moved to play down ­speculation that one of his most senior ministers is in line to replace the current IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, amid growing speculation within Fine Gael that the cabinet minister is set to depart.

Mr Donohoe, who currently earns around €175,000 a year as a minister, would see his pay skyrocket to more than €40,000 a month and be in line for IMF benefits such as comprehensive medical insurance for his entire family if he took up the role.

The Washington DC-based agency also pays “expatriate benefits” for staff who are not from the US and this includes financial support for regular visits home and education for children.

The IMF’s website says staff are initially entitled to 26 annual leave days a year and this increases to 30 days with longer service. Staff also get 15 days of sick leave a year.

The organisation also has what it calls the IMF Spouse and Partner Association, which provides a support network for a staff member’s partner when they move to Washington DC. This includes offering advice on living and working in the US, career services, personal development, English-language courses, a school counsellor to help children settle into school, and an onsite childcare centre.

Mr Donohoe is married with two children.

On leaving the IMF, the Dublin Central TD would be ­entitled to a “generous final salary” and a defined contribution pension plan, while a voluntary retirement savings plan is also available to employees.

Mr Varadkar, who is at the Cop28 summit in Dubai, spoke to Mr Donohoe after it emerged in a report by business news agency Bloomberg that he was considering a bid for the senior IMF position.

The Taoiseach sought to play down news that the cabinet minister was in preliminary talks with the IMF by saying there was no vacancy since the current managing director of the IMF, Ms Georgieva, had not yet indicated whether she would seek a second term.

Mr Varadkar said Mr Donohoe told him he did not know where the story in Bloomberg had come from.

The Taoiseach said Mr Donohoe was committed to running in the next general election and remaining as president of the Eurogroup but said he would make a good IMF chief if he was to go for the job.

“Paschal Donohoe is one of the most capable politicians in the country by a mile and he’s internationally recognised for his work,” he said.

“I think he’d be an ­excellent managing director of the IMF, but that’s not what he’s ­interested in. He’s interested in staying on as president of the Eurogroup and also contesting the next Dáil election in the Dublin Central constituency.”