Cork councillors to see third pay rise in less than a year before polling day

Sitting councillors and those aspiring to be elected for the first time will have an added incentive as they face into the June 7 election, as they are being granted their third pay increase in less than a year — just a week before polling day.

And for those councillors standing down before the election, or those who fail to retain their seats, they are in line for a golden parachute — as long as they have served a minimum of two years as an elected member. For those who have 20 years of service, this amounts to €86,172.

According to a memo sent to the chief executive of Cork County Council, along with other local authorities, from the Department of Housing and Local Government, councillors will get a pay increase from €29,572 per year to €29,978.

On January 1, it was increased from €28,724 — the rate which had been in force since October 1, 2023.

These pay increases are happening in rapid succession as the pay of councillors is set at the level of an assistant staff officer grade 4 since May 2021 and their pay, along with other public servants, has been increasing under the Public Service Agreement (Building Momentum — A New Public Service Agreement 2021-23).

Significant

It’s a significant hike, however, from the salary payable to councillors who were elected in 2019 as, back then, they were entitled to a representational salary of €17,282.

This was increased to €27,109 following a report by senior counsel Sara Moorhead, which was published in 2020.

That report recommended that the “salary type payments councillors currently receive should be consolidated into a single salary payment, with a statutory link to an appropriate local authority employee grade (assistant staff officer grade 4) that provides a level of remuneration that is consistent with the role of councillors in the local Government sector, the responsibilities placed upon them, and the part-time nature of the role”.

The report’s author also suggested in the foreword that what was being proposed was radical, as it also came with a recommendation “to reduce the entitlement to unvouched expenses quite significantly”.

24/7 role

Mayor of County Cork Frank O’Flynn told The Echo that the role was anything but part-time.

“It’s a 24/7 role — even on Christmas Day I took three calls,” he said. 

“We pay tax and PRSI like everyone else. Councillors who are doing their job are putting in twice the number of hours of a full-time job, I’d say.”

For the 10 councillors who are standing down from Cork County Council, and for elected choosing not to stand for election for other authorities, they will be entitled to an increased gratuity payment which becomes payable a week after polling day on June 14.

Following a memo in November from the then minister of state for local Government, Kieran O’Donnell, the payment is a calculation based on 15% of the annual salary then €28,724, per year of service up to a maximum of 20 years.

In the case of a councillor who was retiring after 20 years, this amounts to a gratuity payment upon retirement or failure to be re-elected of €86,172.