Incoming lord mayor defends €110k salary

The incoming lord mayor of Cork has defended the office’s €110,000 salary describing it as a “reflection of the importance of the role”.

Catherine Clancy, Labour, was reacting to criticism from Sinn Féin which said the city cannot afford what it described as one of the highest paid political jobs in Europe.

Ms Clancy — a sister of Labour TD Ciarán Lynch and a sister-in-law of Minister of State Kathleen Lynch — is due to be elected mayor tomorrow night under the terms of a mayoral pact between Fine Gael, Labour, and Fianna Fáil, which sees the chain of office rotate between the three parties.