The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
THERE has been a 19.6% increase in the total amount of salaries, expenses and allowances paid by Clare County Council to its elected members over a three year-period, new figures have revealed.
Official statistics obtained by the Clare Champion show payments totalling almost €750,000 were paid to 28 Clare County Councillors in 2019.
This jumped by almost 20% to a total of €897,002 in 2021 for 29 councillors after the salary for every Clare councillor went up from €17,060 to €21,894 over a three-year period.
Former council chairman, Councillor P J Ryan finished at the top of the payments table with a total payment of €40,556 after he received an additional payment of €10,400 for his work as first citizen.
Councillor Liam Grant came at the bottom of the table with a payment of €7,464 after he only served on the councillor for part of the year, replacing Councillor Susan Crawford, who resigned her seat last year.
Councillor Ryan said the reduction of councillors from 32 to 28 and the abolition of town councils has resulted in a lot more work for county councillors.
The Sixmilebridge oil distributor estimated he clocked up an additional 10,000 kilometres of driving over his 12-month term as first citizen.
Out of an overall payment of €20,000 for the chairman’s allowance for the year, he estimated that the first citizen receives €12,500 after tax, which has to cover all travel expenses within the county.
“Working as a councillor has almost become a full time job. This can deter some people from becoming involved unless they have a family business and have family members who can fill in for them when they are on council duty.
“It is very hard for any man or woman with a young family to live on a councillor’s salary.
“Sometimes being a councillor can involve a 12-hour day. Sometimes you have to be an agony aunt for some people who can’t get housing and have genuine problems.
“The work being done by a councillor can exceed the work being done by a senator but there is no comparison between the remuneration and time off for these two roles.
“A councillor is on call around the clock. If a water main breaks at 11pm at night or a road has to be closed, a councillor is expected to deal with this issue.
“We have had this situation in the Shannon MD when constituents contacted me after traffic was diverted on to local roads after an accident on the motorway. A senator wouldn’t have to do this kind of work,” he said.
Since 2004, Councillor Johnny Flynn has stood on a “no expenses, junkets or top up payments platform”, having worked for 25 years in local government, and in view of the fact he lives less than one kilometre from the council headquarters in New Road, Ennis.
The Fine Gael Councillor confirmed he also opted not to accept different allowances that can be availed of by members.
His council payments minus PAYE, PRSI and USC totalled €11,802 in 2021.
He said some people were asking questions about the carbon footprint of public representatives.
His workload has increased substantially due to Covid-19 as he can no longer meet a group of people to explain a council policy or initiative, he had to contact them by phone or email individually.
On Monday, he worked almost constantly from 10 am to 11pm, apart from meal breaks.
“The amount of emails, phone calls and meetings has increased.”
He stressed it would be impossible for any councillor to secure a mortgage or raise a family on the current salary in view of the fact the average industrial wage is about €35,000.
Councillor Cillian Murphy and Councillor Donna McGettigan were one of the few councillors who submitted vouched expenses of €4,618 and €5,000 respectively.
There wasn’t a breakdown provided for these vouched expenses in the council register of expenses.
Councillor McGettigan explained she claimed this expense to cover the cost of an office in Shannon last year, which she no longer used.
Councillor Murphy said he claimed €799 per quarter for office rental, €1,000 for website creation, an annual subscription to track constituency issues, sundry office supplies and printing costs.
The Kilkee councillor said elected members have to study a lot of council reports such as the current draft 1,000-page Clare County Development Plan, which requires a lot of detailed analysis.
Acknowledging councillors who are elected as a Strategic Policy Committee chairman get an additional €6,0002, Councillor Gerry Flynn said he has to pay €1,000 tax on this payment.
“I work very hard. My house is open for constituents. I socialise very little now because of the demand on me. I don’t mind this demand to help people as this is what I signed up for.
“It is a great honour to serve people. I can’t solve everyone’s problems but at least I am at the end of a phone,” he said.
His workload has also increased since the pandemic as he believes some people have got more demanding and are more likely to vent their frustration over serious issues such as the lack of social housing when they were cooped up in their own dwellings due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Clare County Councillors’ Expenses 2021
Michael Begley
Conference: €305
Training: €932
Total Council Payments: €31,829
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €297.
Pat Burke
Conference: €565
Training: €406
Total Council Payments: €33,604
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Bill Chambers
Conference: €0
Training: €0
Total Council Payments: €29,948
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Clare Colleran-Molloy
Conference: €248
Training: €994
Total Council Payments: €28,986
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Joe Cooney
Conference: €0
Training: €980
Total Council Payments: €33,252
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
John Crowe
Conference: €284
Training: €813
Total Council Payments: €39,556
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €509
Pat Daly
Conference: €450
Training: €1,745
Total Council Payments: €29,938
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €1,356
Gerry Flynn
Conference: €0
Training: €0
Total Council Payments: €34,388
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Johnny Flynn
Conference: €0
Training: €0
Total Council Payments: €11,802
(Council salary minus PAYE, PRSI, USC)
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Joe Garrihy
Conference: €0
Training: €0
Total Council Payments: €32,317
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Liam Grant (co-opted)
Conference: €0
Training: €0
Total Council Payments: €7,464
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Pat Hayes
Conference: €0
Training: €0
Total Council Payments: €38,136
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Mary Howard
Conference: €453
Training: €990
Total Council Payments: €38,922
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Gabriel Keating
Conference: €604
Training: €1,264
Total Council Payments: €33,410
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €322
P J Kelly
Conference: €0
Training: €781
Total Council Payments: €28,983
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €3,153
Joe Killeen
Conference: €0
Training: €581
Total Council Payments: €30,408
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Ian Lynch
Conference: €0
Training: €0
Total Council Payments: €28,131
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Donna McGettigan
Conference: €0
Training: €0
Total Council Payments: €31,063
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Pat McMahon
Conference: €440
Training: €950
Total Council Payments: €38,079
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Cillian Murphy
Conference: €0
Training: €617
Total Council Payments: €37,147
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Paul Murphy
Conference: €601
Training: €994
Total Council Payments: €34,627
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Mark Nestor
Conference: €0
Training: €0
Total Council Payments: €27,742
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Ann Norton
Conference: €453
Training: €1,064
Total Council Payments: €37,348
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €576
Tony O’Brien
Conference: €0
Training: €901
Total Council Payments: €32,123
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Alan O’Callaghan
Conference: €439
Training: €1,003
Total Council Payments: €29,553
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €2,971
Pat O’Gorman
Conference: €427
Training: €691
Total Council Payments: €30,423
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
P J Ryan
Conference: €284
Training: €1,000
Total Council Payments: €40,556
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Shane Talty
Conference: €0
Training: €0
Total Council Payments: €29,029
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
Susan Crawford
Conference: €0
Training: €0
Total Council Payments: €18,238
Total Payments Outside Bodies: €0
