Figures released to The Munster Express following a Freedom of Information request to Waterford City and County Council shows that the local authority made gratuity payments of over €176,000 to former Councillors who retired or lost their seat following the last Local Elections.
It is important to note that Councillors themselves do not make the rules in terms of gratuity payments, nor do they calculate the figures they ultimately receive.
According to a document from Association of Irish Local Government induction training in 2024, gratuity payments are paid to Councillors when they retire from their position. These payments are only payable once a former Councillor turns 50 years of age, and providing that the Councillor served in their position for at least 2 years.
Retirement from a councillor position can occur because the councillor in question chose not to contest the next election, was not re-elected, or has been successfully elected to another position, like a TD or Senator.
Current rules state payments are calculated according to the years of service which the councillor has been in their position, up to a maximum of 20 years.
Gratuity payments are payments made in-lieu of a pension, which councillors do not receive.
Breakdown of the gratuity payment
In a breakdown of the €176,705 gratuity payments, former Independent Councillor Joe Conway received €74,242 following his election to the Seanad; Labour’s Ger Barron, who did not contest the 2024 local election received €22,686; Independent Seamus O’Donnell, who was not re-elected in 2024, received €45,126; the Green Party’s Jody Power, who was not re-elected in 2024, received €22,686 and the Green Party’s Cristíona Kiely who was also not re-elected at the 2024 elections, received €11,963.
The gratuity payment to former councillor, Sinn Féin’s Conor McGuinness, who was elected to the Dáil, was not included in the figures released because he has not yet turned 50, meaning the payment is yet to be made.
AARON KENT
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
