@vkid,
I wasn't disputing the amount but the simple fact, in my view, is that Aer Lingus need him. I don't see anyone else in the senior management team capable of stepping up to take his position were he to leave. He has done a very good job and EI's performance would've been significantly better only for cleaning up the redundancy mess left by the last management team.
As mentioned previously, Lufthansa or Air Berlin have noticed his performance and the turn around at Aer Lingus. While it's good for EIN, it's also a vulnerability in that the airline isn't stable enough yet to lose yet another CEO and I really doubt they have a robust succession plan in place at this stage. If a high package is the price to pay for retaining him, then so be it.
I understand that comparisons will be made with O'Leary and his €900k package but there is no chance of him ever leaving the company and he owns a significant block of the company also.