Irish financial firms are still scrambling for a limited pool of compliance staff, and salaries have surged over the last year.

Thanks to the Re-Insurance Directive – fully implemented on 10 December 2007 – and to Ireland’s heavily regulated financial markets, demand for compliance staff soared last year as investment banks, fund administrators, global custodians and insurance firms all beefed up their teams.

What’s more, salaries for senior level staff leapt up. Joslin Rowe’s 2007 salary survey reveals that a compliance manager in Dublin typically earns €85k, with a 10-20% bonus. This has risen from an average of €65k in 2006. Standard pay for a head of compliance rose from €85k+ to €100k+ over the same period.

Suzanne Feeney, consultant in the compliance and legal division of recruiters Robert Walters, says the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) was a key driver in investment bank compliance hiring: “This had a particular influence on recruitment at senior level, and specialist product knowledge, policy making skills and project management experience became prerequisites.”

Paul Cotter, managing director of Joslin Rowe in Ireland, says demand outstrips supply: “At all levels of experience most companies are beefing up their compliance departments, so it would be fair to say that most companies would look favourably on the CV of an individual with compliance experience.”

Sinead Walsh, a manager at recruiter Accreate, says the lack of candidates is partly down to the notion that compliance is something to be avoided: “Generally, compliance professionals either come from a legal background or they may be qualified accountants. We find there is a limited number of candidates who want to pursue a career in compliance, as there is a perception that should the candidate choose this career path they will find it difficult to move out of this area.”

It’s no wonder firms are desperate to hang on to the staff they already have. As Walsh says: “We find that compliance professionals tend to be counter-offered by their employers if they look at moving in the market, and a high number tend to stay in their current roles.”