Clare County Council spent over €10,500 sending its councillors on a two-day seminar last year.
Figures released by the local authority which outline details of individual payments to councillors show that in total, over €830,000 was paid out in councillor salaries and expenses last year.
In total, Clare County Council paid out €831,053 in salary and expenses to the 28 sitting councillors in this county last year.
Of that, €472,276 – that’s over half – is made up of the basic salary of almost €16,700 per councillor per year.
As is usual, the Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council received the biggest portion of money, with over €41,800 granted to Clonlara Independent Councillor Michael Begley last year thanks in part to a €10,000 bonus for being the county’s First Citizen.
Ennis Fine Gael Councillor Johnny Flynn, meanwhile, took home the smallest sum of almost €17,700.
In terms of larger spends, the figures for 2018 also reveal that some €10,500 was spent by Clare County Council on sending elected representatives to a local government seminar in Monaghan in October last.
The two-day event, which was held by the Association of Irish Local Government, was billed as a training event and included lunch and dinner on the first day and an overnight stay.
