Waterford’s 33 councillors accounted for almost €1.5 million in payments, allowances and expenses, according to figures compiled for a full breakdown of councillor payments from Waterford City and County Council.
The figures supplied show a combined total of €1,491,809, with significant differences between individual councillors.
At the top of the list is Cllr Jason Murphy, with a total of €64,564, followed by Cllr Lola O’Sullivan on €60,246 and Cllr Seamus Ryan on €59,079.
At the other end of the scale, Cllr Joe Conway is listed at €3,472, while Cllr Sandra Conway is listed at €32,549 due to his wife (Sandra) being co-opted into her husbands seat after he made to move as Senator to the Seanad.
The figures include a range of payments, including training, conference attendance, local representation allowances, mayoral and Cathaoirleach allowances, SPC chair allowances and, in two cases, security-related payments.
The gap between the highest and lowest totals is a striking: €61,092.
The highest payments
Cllr Jason Murphy’s total of €64,564 includes €6,020 in training, €870 in conference expenses, a €14,423 Mayor of Waterford City and County allowance and €4,060 in local representation allowance as well as a base Gross Annual Representational Allowance of €30,700 and an annual expense allowance of €7,531 as well as a petty cash allocation of €960.
Cllr Lola O’Sullivan’s €60,246 includes €3,302 in training, €859 in conferences and a €6,000 annual SPC Chair allowance. The figures also include a €9,591 security allowance for the installation of gates on personal property.Cllr. O’Sullivan also received €7,833 as part of an annual expense allowance, €1,001 in local representation allowance, a petty cash allocation of €960 and a Gross Annual Representational Allowance of €30,700.
Cllr Seamus Ryan’s €59,079 total includes €15,115 as Mayor of Waterford City and County, €573 in training and €4,200 in local representation allowance, €7,531 for expenses and €960 in petty cash, as well as a Gross Annual Representational Allowance of €30,700.
Each councillor receives a standard annual representational payment of €30,700, which forms the base level of remuneration before any additional expenses or role-related allowances are applied.
In addition, councillors are entitled to claim an annual expenses allowance, the value of which varies depending on factors such as distance travelled to council meetings and official duties. All councillors except Cllr Joe Conway received expense allowances running into the thousands of euro, with the highest figure recorded by Cllr Donnchadh Mulcahy at €9,688.
Training payments
Training is another area where there are substantial differences.
The highest training figure supplied is Cllr John Pratt at €6,717, followed by Cllr Damien Geoghegan at €6,594, Cllr Jason Murphy at €6,020, Cllr Tom Cronin at €5,841 and Cllr Pat Nugent at €5,774.
At the bottom of the training ranking, several councillors have no training expenditure listed, while Cllr Jim Griffin is listed at €98.
Across the 33 councillors, the training figures supplied amount to €61,014.
Conference spending
Conference payments are considerably smaller in aggregate, with the supplied figures totalling €7,778.
The highest individual conference figure is €870, recorded for both Cllr Jason Murphy and Cllr Declan Barry.
They are followed by Cllr Tom Cronin at €861, Cllr Lola O’Sullivan at €859 and Cllr John Pratt at €774.
Several councillors have no conference expenditure listed.
Mayors, Cathaoirleach and SPC chairs
Some of the larger individual totals are also linked to additional positions held by councillors.
The supplied figures include a €15,115 Mayor of Waterford City and County allowance for Cllr Seamus Ryan and €14,423 for Cllr Jason Murphy.
Cllr Adam Gary Wyse is listed with a €9,415 Metropolitan Mayor allowance, as well as a €2,885 Deputy Mayor allowance. Cllr Joe Kelly is listed with a €8,723 Metropolitan Mayor allowance, while Cllr John Pratt has a €3,023 Deputy Mayor allowance.
Annual SPC Chair allowances of €6,000 are listed for Cllrs Declan Clune, Tom Cronin, Jim Griffin, Lola O’Sullivan and Seanier Power.
Cathaoirleach allowances are also listed, including €3,323 for Cllr Niamh O’Donovan, €3,162 for Cllr John O’Leary, and €2,954 each for Cllrs Pat Nugent and Seanie Power.
Petty cash
Separate from the totals, councillors are also provided with a petty cash allowance.
The figure supplied is €960 per councillor, with two exceptions: Cllr Joe Conway is listed at €92, while Cllr Sandra Conway is listed at €764.
The petty cash figures amount to €30,616 across the 33 councillors if treated as a separate payment.
The figures demonstrate that the headline cost of councillors is not simply a matter of a standard payment. Individual totals can be pushed considerably higher by positions such as mayor, deputy mayor, Cathaoirleach or SPC chair, as well as training, conferences, local representation and, in some cases, security-related allowances.
