Cavan County Councillors were paid €490,000 in 2015
The council spent almost half a million in expenses and taxable allowances on councillors in 2015, writes Paul Neilan.
Cavan County Council has 18 councillors who were paid €490K in travel and training expenses, which are not taxable, and in allowances, salary and chair allowances, which are - an average of just over €27K each.
Cllr Clifford Kelly (FF) topped the figures with €32K, which was augmented with a Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) chairship that carries an allowance of €6K, as were three others - Cllr John Paul Feely (FF), Cllr Madeleine Argue (FG) and Cllr Damien Brady (SF).
The representational allowance for each councillor is €16,508.31, which is taxable.
In total the council spent €37,313.27 on 'travel, subsistence or training’, €7457.25 on 'travel, subsistence or other’, €1,671.16 on foreign travel, €91,282.20 on the annual allowance, €24,000 on SPC chairs, €31,849.40 on chairs or vice chairs of the council or the municipal area councils and €297,149.58 on the standard representational allowance for all members.
Cllr Kelly said: “I can tell you I put in a major effort into it and I have always been fully committed to working on behalf of the people that elected me. I think I put in the hours into it and just to say that I enjoy doing it and I have no problem nor complaint with the amount of work or time I put into it.”
Cllr Shane P O’Reilly, who had the second highest amount, said that he, like Cllr Kelly, paid taxes on allowances but that he felt councillors were “good value” for money. The councillor’s figure was boosted by his role as chair of the council for six months of 2015 and his housing SPC chair in “a very important year”.
The councillor had just returned from signing a tourism and economic deal with Wurzburg University and nearby town Kurnach with Mullagh over their St Kilian’s connection.
“I paid for that myself!” he notes, emphasising his belief in the importance of foreign travel.
“The expenses are what they are - I was cathaoirleach so that’s why mine appears higher, along with the SPC, but I hope I acquitted myself well and I’m very happy with some of the achievements we had throughout the year,” he said.
The Mullagh main said that councillors’ taxes were high and “I’m on a higher band, our representational payment is around €16,000, I pay €8,000 of that, we pay USC, we’re not entitled to any social welfare if we lose the seat, nothing for 12 months, for example.
“We do our best to run the county, it’s an awful lot of work but it’s an honour,” he said.
Cllr Eugene Greenan (SF) finished bottom of the list on €20,916.66 - none of the four Sinn Fein members claimed any travel or subsistence expense for 2015.
BREAKDOWN OF COUNCILLORS EXPENSES
Clifford Kelly (FF) €32,393.34*
Shane P O’Reilly (FF) €32,067.01-
John Paul Feeley (FF) €31,172.85*
Madeleine Argue (FG) €30,008.40*
Paddy Smith (FG) €29,476.13-
Niamh Smyth (FF) €29,055.84-
Sean Smith (FF) €29,054.03-
Winston Bennett (FG) €25,720.74
Paddy O’Reilly (FG) €27,866.98-
Damien Brady (SF) €27,694.59*
Carmel Brady (FG) €27,604.79-
Val Smith (FG) €27,537.04-
Fergal Curtin (FF) €26,035.91
Noel Connell (SF) €24,656.78-
Peter McVitty (FG) €24,367.07
Philip Brady (FF) €23,400.12
Paddy McDonald (SF) €21,694.59
Eugene Greenan (SF) €20,916.66
Total €490,722.86
* Includes SPC chair allowance
- Includes chair or vice chair of council or municipal allowance