City councillors receive €460,000 in payments and expenses

The taxpayer funded payments totalling more than €460,000 in expenses and other payments to city councillors during 2015.

The 18 sitting councillors claimed a total of €462,376 over the twelve-month period from January to December.

The monies paid include an annual basic salary of €16,565 (which is subject to tax) and a further annual allowance of up to €4,390 depending on the number of local authority meetings which were attended by the individual councillor.

Councillors are also entitled to claim an allowance for their mobile phones and broadband, as well as for travelling expenses, overnight and subsistence expenses for travelling to conferences around the country.

Those who Chair one of the Council’s five Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs) – Housing; Planning; Economic Development, Enterprise Support and Culture; Transportation; Environment, Recreation and Amenity – also receive an allowance of €6,000 per annum.

Fine Gael’s Frank Fahy had the largest claim – totalling almost €36,700 – although he served as Mayor from June to December, for which he received a Mayoral allowance of €12,800 of which €5,000 is subject to taxation.

His claims included trips to Chicago and Milwaukee – ‘Sister Cities’ of Galway – and a visit to Brussels. The flights and accommodation cost around €1,260.

For a detailed breakdown of expenses and payments to all 18 city councillors, see this week’s Galway City Tribune