Councillors’ payments top €900k

FORMER CATHAOIRLEACH The annual payment to Cllr Damien Ryan, who was Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council for the first six months of 2015, amounted to €55,499.61.

Moroccan National Day in Dublin among events expenses claimed for

Áine Ryan

Figures released last week reveal that the county’s 30 public representatives received a whopping €905,276.35 in annual payments, allowances and various expenses during 2015. On the face of it, payments to Mayo’s county councillors decreased from €1.2 million in 2014, to just over €900,000 in 2015. However, when The Mayo News subtracted the whopping gratuities paid to retirees and those who lost seats after the local elections (€354,658) this year’s pay-out evened up somewhat.
The present cathaoirleach, Michael Holmes (Ind), who was appointed in July, returned a total bill of €47,161.78, while the payment to his predecessor, Cllr Damien Ryan (FF), amounted to €55,499.61.
These figures not only include the €16,565.04 standard annual salary, or ‘Representational Payment’, paid to all councillors, they also include the Cathaoirleach’s Allowance, which goes towards that office’s extra duties. That allowance was €18,378.08 for Mr Holmes, the incumbent until next July, and €21,890.41 for Mr Ryan for the second-half of his tenure.
The cathaoirlaigh of the Municipal Districts and of the Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs) also receive extra allowances.
As well as the standard Representational Payment mentioned above, all councillors receive ‘Annual Allowances’ based on the distance they must travel to local authority meetings. They also receive separate expenses for ‘Conferences, Training and Meetings in Ireland’. Expenses for trips abroad have been largely curtailed in recent years.
Last year’s trips overseas were for the annual St Patrick’s Day festivities to the US and a trip to the Milwaukee Irish Festival during August. The entire bill for three councillors – Michael Holmes, Henry Kenny (FG) and Annie May Reape (FF) – for the St Patrick’s Day trip was €2,513.64. A bill of €1,025.13 was lodged for Annie May Reape, Gerry Coyle (FG) and Damien Ryan’s visit to Milwaukee.
Interestingly, Sinn Féin’s Cllrs Thérèse Ruane had no bill for conference and training expenses while her party colleagues, Gerry Murray and Rose Conway Walsh, returned by far the lowest bills in this category: €259.24 and €301.97. Fianna FΡil’s Lisa Chambers, Al McDonnell and Paul McNamara, Fine Gael’s Henry Kenny and Jarlath Munnelly and Independents Frank Durcan and Gerry Ginty did not incur any expenses either in this category.  
Nevertheless, the overall bill for this category amounted to €64,550.05.
Fine Gael’s John O’Hara, for example, submitted a bill for €5,387.04, while his party colleague Neil Cruise incurred €6,689.98 and Richard Finn (Ind) incurred expenses of €4,359.81.  
While Conway Walsh’s conference expenses and training bill was among the lowest, her mobile phone bill (€697.43) was significantly higher than all other bills in that category. The next highest, €205.94, was incurred by Cllr Ruane. Indeed, 25 of the councillors submitted no mobile-phone expenses.
During the 2015 claim period, a gratuity of €33,292.13 was paid to Eugene Lavin (FG), who lost his seat in the local elections, and €4,153.57 to former Cllr Ger Deere (FG). The 2014 gratuity payments to councillors who retired or lost their seats in that year’s local elections, at €354,658, amounted to over a quarter of the total payout for 2014.   

Taking time-out
AMONG the rather colourful conferences bills was one lodged by Cathaoirleach Michael Holmes for attending a ‘Moroccan National Day’ held in Dún Laoghaire Yacht Club, south County Dublin, last July. The overnight stay cost the Exchequer €469.
One particular Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) Autumn Seminar, held at the scenic Inchidoney Island Lodge and Spa Hotel, proved very popular with some Mayo local representatives. Half the local authority representatives (15) attended the weekend conference, held from October 1 to 3. Cyril Burke (FG) claimed €565.93, John Caulfield (FF) €463.81, Tom Connolly (FG) €567.12, Gerry Coyle (FG) €687.62, John Cribbin (FG) €567.34, Neil Cruise (FG) €619.10, Richard Finn (Ind) €571.84, Blackie Gavin (FF) €601.97, Christy Hyland (FG) €599.01, Michael Kilcoyne (Ind) €599.60, Brendan Mulroy (FF) €602.56, John O’Hara (FG) €649.06, Annie May Reape (FF) €611.84, Damien Ryan (FF) €381.01, and Seamus Weir (Ind) €534.63.
A week later, from October 8 to 10, 13 councillors headed off to Hotel Kilkenny to attend the Autumn LAMA (Local Authorities Membership Association) Training Seminar. The expenses bill this time came in thus: Cyril Burke (FG), €457.08; Tom Connolly (FG), €458.26; John Cribbin (FG), €440.54; Neil Cruise (FG), €514.97; Richard Finn (Ind), €462.99; Blackie Gavin (FF), €528.55; Christy Hyland (FG), €507.88; Michael Kilcoyne (Ind), €503.15; Brendan Mulroy (FF), €526.61; Patsy O’Brien (FG) €419.02; John O’Hara (FG), €541.38; Damien Ryan (FF), €339.80; Seamus Weir (Ind), €432.16.
On top of expenses, there was a fee of €125 paid for each participant in the first conference and €180 for the second one.