Elected members of Waterford City and County Council were paid €551,369-30 for the first six months of the Councils history

The 32 elected members of Waterford City and County Council were paid €551,369-30 in expenses between them for the first six months of the Councils history, a report in this week’s Dungarvan Observer shows.

The report by Paul Mooney shows that all 32 councillors were paid a representation allowance of €9,569-30 from the time they were elected midway through the year until the end of 2014.

Five Councillors (John Carey {FG}, John Hearne {SF}, Joe Kelly {IND), Michael J O’Ryan {FF} and Lola O’Sullivan {FG) were paid a further €3,449-70 SPC Allowance.

James Tobin {FF} was paid a taxable allowance of €11,279-82 for filling the position of Chairman and a further non-taxable allowance of €5,639-84 for filling the same position.

Mayor of the Waterford City/Tramore Metropolitan area Lola O’Sullivan {FG} received a taxable allowance of €5,001-92 and a non-taxable allowance of €5,043-98 for filling the position.

Damien Geoghegan {FG} as leader of the Dungarvan/Lismore area was paid a taxable €909-10 and a non-taxable €2,915-67 while his Comeragh Area counterpart Michael J O’Ryan {FF} received a €552-90 which was taxable and €2,765-09 which was not taxable.

14 of the 32 Councillors did not claim conference expenses which consists of Subsistence Allowances, Travel Mileage and Booking Fees.

Of the 18 Councillors that did claim the above expenses, Michael J O’Ryan (FF) claim the least (€86-90) while party Tommy Cronin claimed the highest expenses (€2,520-11) just ahead of another Fianna Fail representative John O’Leary (€2, 269-44) and Labours sole representative on the Council John Pratt (€2,205-15).

The full list of those that claimed such expenses are Michael J O’Ryan (€86-90), Declan Clune (€133-90), Sean Reinhardt (€326-72), Eddie Mulligan (€441-70), Jason Murphy (€514-19), James Tobin (€581-20), Seanie Power (€777-55), Mary Butler (€794-69), Liam Brazil (€895-48), Pat Nugent (€1,005-02), Laurence O’Neill (€1,333-71), Damien Geoghegan (€1,346-71), John Carey (€1,347-43), Declan Doocey (€1,488-48), Joe Conway (€1,963-39), John Pratt (€2,205-15), John O’Leary (€2,269-44) and Tommy Cronin (€2,520-11).

Of the 12 councillors that claimed mobile phone expenses, John Pratt (Lab) was paid the least (€112-28) while Laurence O’Neill received the highest payment (€541-47).

In total €306,217-60 was paid in representational allowances from June to December 2014. Expenses for the same time period amounted to €163,840-65, SPC Allowances amounted to €17,348-50, Mayor/Chairperson and Vice Mayor/Chairperson expenses amounted to €20,731-69 which was taxable with a further €19,849-81 which is untaxable was paid out.

€4,177-81 was paid in Subsistence Allowances, €13,107-83 in Travel Allowances and €2,7460-19 was paid in booking fees, while €3,339-22 was paid out in mobile phone expenses.

 

Waterford County and City Councillors Expenses – June to December 2014

Declan Clune – Sinn Féin – Comeragh Area - €14,252-16

Breda Brennan – Sinn Féin – Waterford City South - €14,427-35

Davy Daniels – Ind. – Waterford City East - €14,427-35

Eamon Quinlan – Fianna Fail – Tramore/Waterford City West - €14,427-35

Siobhan Whelan – Sinn Fein – Dungarvan/Lismore - €14,427-35

Adam Gary Wyse – Fianna Fail – Waterford City East - €14,427-35

Blaise Hannigan – Ind. – Tramore/Waterford City West - €14,617-35

Sean Reinhardt – Ind. – Waterford City South - €14,754-07

Mary Roche – Ind. – Waterford City East - €14,904-70

Pat Fitzgerald – Sinn Fein – Waterford City East - €14,929-55

Jim Griffin – Sinn Fein – Tramore/Waterford City West - €14,929-55

Seamus O’Donnell – Ind. – Dungarvan/Lismore - €15,006-80

Mary Butler – Fianna Fail – Comeragh - €15,078-38

Eddie Mulligan – Fianna Fail – Waterford City East - €15,087-29

Liam Brazil – Fine Gael – Comeragh - €15,225-97

Pat Nugent – Fine Gael – Dungarvan/Lismore - €15,432-37

Seanie Power – Fine Gael – Comeragh - €15,474-35

Laurence O’Neill – Ind. – Waterford City South - €16,302-53

John O’Leary – Fianna Fail – Comeragh - €16,464-89

Joe Conway – Ind. – Tramore/Waterford City West - €16,700-74

Declan Doocey – Fine Gael – Dungarvan/Lismore - €17,345-33

Tommy Cronin – Fianna Fail – Dungarvan/Lismore - €17,797-36

John Cummins – Fine Gael – Waterford City South - €17,798-08

John Hearne – Sinn Fein – Waterford City South - €17,877-05

Joe Kelly – Ind. – Tramore/Waterford City South - €17,877-05

Jason Murphy – Fianna Fail – Waterford City South - €18,325-24

John Pratt – Labour – Dungarvan/Lismore - €18,483-28

Damien Geoghegan – Fine Gael – Dungarvan/Lismore - €19,842-63

John Carey – Fine Gael – Waterford City East - €19,842-63

Michael J O’Ryan – Fianna Fail – Comeragh - €22,652-81

Lola O’Sullivan – Fine Gael – Tramore/Waterford City West - €28,463-75

James Tobin – Fianna Fail – Dungarvan/Lismore – 433,859-91

Average Payments

The Fianna Fail members on the council received an average of €18,680-06

The Fine Gael members on the council received an average of €18,666-48

The sole Labour member of the council received €18,483-28

The Independent members of the council received an average of €15-573-82

The Sinn Fein members of the council received an average of €15,140-50

 

The Average payment for the members of Waterford City East was €15,603-15

The Average payment for the members of Comeragh was €16,524-93

The Average payment for the members of Waterford City South was €16,580-72

The Average payment for the members of Tramore/Waterford City West was €17,835-95

The Average payment for the members of Dungarvan/Lismore was €19.012-59