Two former mayors get combined €156,000 as Cork County Council spends €2.6m on councillors

Two former county mayors were paid almost €156,000 between them in expenses and allowances, data reveals, as Cork County Council confirmed that it paid out more than €2.6m to its elected members in 2024.

The total — €2,622,070.17 — was paid to elected members of Cork County Council during 2024, with 14 councillors receiving payments in excess of €50,000 and a further 24 councillors receiving payments in excess of €40,000.

Fianna Fáil councillor for West Cork Joe Carroll, who has just finished his year as county mayor, earned a total of €79,406.19 during 2024. His mayoral predecessor, party colleague Frank O’Flynn, was paid €75,828.49 during the year.

These payments included a representational allowance of €30,564.04, which is paid annually to councillors; as well as a mayoral allowance of €20,923.06, which was paid to Mr Carroll for the portion of 2024 he served as mayor; and €20,769.21, which was paid to Mr O’Flynn, whose tenure as mayor came to an end in June 2024.

Mr Carroll also received a payment of €12,653.52 in the annual expense allowance category as well as €2,902.03 for a local representation allowance. He was also paid €4,452.72 for training expenses.

He also received payments of €1,035 for event expenses, €2,023.65 (for attending external committee meetings) and a payment of €3,104.74 was made in respect of his tenure as chairman of the West Cork Municipal District, which ended in June 2024. He was also paid €1,302.58 in arrears from 2023.

His predecessor as county mayor and party colleague, Frank O’Flynn, received (along with his representational payment of €30,564.04 and mayoral allowance of €20,769.21), an annual expense allowance payment of €10,299.96, a local representational allowance of €4,165.41, training expenses of €4,498.53 and a payment of €1,473.35 for ‘foreign travel’.

There was also a payment of €3,000 in respect of his role as a chairman of an SPC (special purpose committee).

Responding to a query from The Echo, Mr O’Flynn said the role of county mayor in Cork County Council was one of “civic leadership, ensuring the smooth running of the council”.

He added: 

“The mayor chairs council meetings, promotes community events and acts as ambassador for the county of Cork throughout their term of office.

“The mayor upholds transparency, fosters public engagement and works collaboratively with councillors and stakeholders to address local needs and drive community development.” Former county mayor Joe Carroll has also been asked for a comment.

Among the councillors who received payments in excess of €50,000 is current county mayor, Mary Linehan Foley, the Independent councillor based in East Cork who was paid a total of €57,536.59. This sum which included a payment of €6,466.25 for training expenses and €2,500 for installing security equipment.

The allowance for the installation of security equipment (such as cameras and alarms) required the councillor to make a matching payment to claim the maximum allowance of €5,000.

This allowance is to be increased to €10,000 without the requirement for a matching payment for councillors.

Two other councillors received allowances for installing security equipment – Labour Party elected member Cathal Rasmussen who was paid €1,460, and Una McCarthy of Fine Gael who was paid €2,500.

Other councillors who received payments in excess of €50,000 during 2024 included Carrigaline District councillors Audrey Buckley (€54,003.52), Ben Dalton O’Sullivan (€52,184.74), Bernard Moynihan, who represents the Kanturk district, who was paid €50,074.55, Deirdre O’Brien from the Fermoy municipality, who received a payment of €54,813.66, Gearóid Murphy of the Mallow district who was paid €54,608.88 and Gillian Coughlan from Bandon who was paid €51,958.20.

Gearoid Murphy told The Echo that the vast majority of expenses and other payments paid to councillors were non-discretionary, detailing that some of the payments he received were for extra roles, such as the chair of a special purposes committee to which he had been elected and which involved attending more meetings.

“There’s really only two discretionary payments for which councillors would actively claim – the first one of those is the training expense and of all the payments made to councillors, I would very strongly argue, that’s money very well spent.

“It’s extremely important that we stay on top of all the developments in legislation, in regulations and local government and our roles,” he said. “It’s very important for councillors to be there to be properly trained so as to effectively represent our constituents.” He said the local representational allowance – the maximum allowable being €4,200 – was for out-of-pocket expenses such as renting an office or advertising clinics and these expenses had to be vouched.

He pointed out that some councillors, particularly those living at a distance from Cork city, accumulated considerable travelling expenses, but that it wasn’t option for them not to live in their own communities.

“You’re getting into defending the value of local democracy. One of our most important roles as councillors is to oversee everything the Council does and to see it’s in line with the priorities of the voters who elected us,” he said.

“The total budget last year was north of half a billion euro and it’s important there are local representatives to oversee that and to ensure it’s in line with the priorities of people who are in the area. In order to ensure we attract a high calibre of local representative, it’s important, they need to be remunerated for the work that they do.” John Paul O’Shea, who was elected as a Cork North West Fine Gael TD in November, received payments totalling €52,296.28 while his party colleague in East Cork, Michael Hegarty’s payments totalled €51,707.71.

Mallow councillor Pat Hayes received payments totalling €50,455.68 while his Fianna Fáil colleague in West Cork, Patrick Gerard Murphy’s payments totalled €50,164.51.

Cobh Municipal District Council’s Sheila O’Callaghan of Fianna Fáil received payments totalling €51,311.60.

The lowest total sum paid during 2024 to a councillor was €5,358.71 to Labour Party veteran James Kennedy, who retired early in 2024 to make way for his party colleague in the Mallow district, Eoghan Kenny, to be co-opted.

The documents, which are published on the Cork County Council website, also detail conferences attended by councillors and how much each elected member received for attending individual conferences.

LETTERKENNY

A total of 20 councillors attended the Local Authority Management Association conference which was held in Letterkenny in Co Donegal in January of 2024.

Expense payments totalling €14,128.7 were paid to the councillors for attending that three-day event. The average payment was €706.43, with one elected member receiving €871.93.

A total of 21 councillors attended the Association of Irish Local Government conference which was held over three days in County Monaghan in September. Five of that number were paid over €1,000 for attending the conference.

In October of 2024, 16 councillors attended the Local Authority Management Association Autumn seminar in Navan.

In terms of foreign travel, details of ten different trips undertaken by Council delegations during 2024 were given in the documentation on the website.

CHINESE CITY

These included the annual trip to the US for St Patrick’s Day and a trip to Chinese city Jiangsu, with which County Cork has a long standing arrangement.

Part of the costs of these trips included payments to councillors for subsistence and mileage.

In total €6,819.84 was paid to councillors participating in these trips.

In general, the Council paid members for their travel and meals, on top of these payments.