Some of Ireland's principals are among the best paid in Europe, according to a European report.
It shows that Ireland ranks seventh out of nearly 40 countries when it comes to salaries.
Maximum salaries in Ireland are up to €112,000 a year, with heads in Liechtenstein earning the most, where wage packets can reach up to €170,000. These top wages are available in secondary schools with 60 teachers or more.
Luxembourg is second on the list with a maximum salary of €153,000 while school heads in the UK are in fourth place with a top wage of more than €123,000.
Starting wages for secondary school teachers in Ireland rank 12th in the survey, while for primary school teachers, starting salaries are ranked 8th.
President of the Teachers Union of Ireland Seamus Lahart says the higher end salaries for principals are fair.
He said: "That only applies to an extremely small amount of very large schools and the workload as principal of that is just extraordinary, probably working five nights a week.
"A lot of principals jobs becoming vacant have to be advertised two or three times to attract applicants to them because of the workload is quite extraordinary for all schools, particularly for larger schools."
