Nine staff at the Department for Enterprise earn more than £100,000 a year.

Figures were given in response to a Freedom of Information request which asked for further details on staff remuneration given in the government’s annual report published in November.

Those accounts, for the year ending March 31 last year, revealed that no fewer than 294 employed by the Manx government had received over £100,000 in pay awards, and a total of 2,115 earned over £50,000.

The FoI request how many of these were employed by the DfE.

In its response, the department said one earned between £150,000 and £174,999, one between £125,000 and £149,999 and seven between £100,000 and £124,999. Sixteen earned between £75,000 and £99,999 and 65 between £50,000 and £74,999.

It said that the figures included staff who are on individual contracts rather those employed under Public Service Commission terms and conditions.

The DfE declined to give details of maximum salaries, saying this would reveal the identity of individual staff members.

It said: ‘The department directly employs a number of individually contracted persons who do not fall under the responsibility of the Public Service Commission and as a consequence do not have a specific pay scale.

‘These positions have no maxima as they are individually negotiated. To disclose the maxima, which in effect will be the actual amount being paid to the staff member concerned, may lead to the identification of that person and would therefore likely be a breach of their rights.’

Its FoI response also listed job titles of those staff members whose salary range appeared in the listed groups.

These include titles such as airworthiness manager, IoT (Internet of Things) manager and CPR head of special projects, creativity and inclusion.