More than 200 staff in councils around the country earn over €100,000 a year.
Figures from the Department of the Environment show the Dublin City Council CEO is the top earner – Owen Keegan's annual salary is €175,721.
He is one of four Chief Executives at councils around the country whose salary is more than €150,000 a year.
Minister Phil Hogan said the 216 people earning over €100,000 represent less than 1% of the total local authority staff numbers around the country.