Councillors’ expenses total €1,617,686
Figures obtained by the Irish Examiner show the average payout for the 48 councillors came to €33,701.
Topping the list was Paddy Sheehan with €52,098.70. This was not altogether unexpected as he held the position of mayor of Co Cork for much of last year and was required to attend more meetings and functions than anybody else.
Based in Goleen, he is also one of the furthest away from County Hall, and would thus have incurred a significant amount of mileage expenses.
Second from top was another Fine Gael councillor, Noel Harrington, who scooped nearly €10,000 less. Living in Casteletownbere he has the furthest to travel of all councillors for meetings. He pocketed €42,261.98.
Fianna Fáil’s top earner on €41,001 was Cllr Danny Crowley who lives in Adrigole, while fourth and fifth spots were held by Skibbereen’s Tadhg O’Donovan and Bantry’s John O’Shea.
The nearest to average was Cllr Michael Hegarty from Ladysbridge, near Youghal, with a total claim of €33,763.47.
At the very bottom of the league table was Cllr Veronica Neville. The FG representative, who is a solicitor and lives in Bandon, put in for just €25,182.97 - less than half of that claimed by Paddy Sheehan.
Second from the bottom was Fianna Fáil councillor Deirdre Forde, from Douglas, who claimed around €150 more than Cllr Neville, while Cllr Michael McGrath was third from bottom on €25,546.
It doesn’t always follow that being further away from County Hall means larger expenses.
For example, Cllr Mark O’Keeffe, who lives just a short drive away in Ballincollig, claimed €33,189.51. The son of the Minister for State at the Department of the Environment, Batt O’Keeffe, was well ahead of Cllr John Collins (Dunmanway) who got €27,302 and nearly €2,000 ahead of Cllr Noel Buckley, who lives in Millstreet.
The payouts are based on a number of factors. All councillors get a representational payment each year of €15,330. The remainder is made up of monthly allowances, expenses, conferences and foreign travel. They are also paid more if they’re on a number of committees
More than half of the councillors went on foreign trips last year. In all, 26 of them furnished a total bill of €20,0933.41.
The highest single bill came in from Cllr Michael Hegarty. He spent €2,469 on a study trip to France, a trade fair in Chicago and a meeting in Belgium. The lowest claim of €301.33 came from Cllr Tim Lombard for a trip to Poitier, France.
