Payments of over €1m. to serving and former Mayo councillors for 2019 revealed

A total of €1,006,833 has been paid out to elected and former members of Mayo County Council for 2019.

A sum of over €231,854 has been paid out to six members who retired from public life ahead of last May's local elections - or lost their seats

The biggest recipient is Castlebar Fine Gael member Henry Kenny who received a gratuity payment of €68,810 for his long service.

His total payment for 2019 came to €81,784.

Mulranny-based Michael Holmes, who served as an independent, received €64,944 which included a gratuity of €51,011.

Ballina's Gerry Ginty, who was also a non-party councillor, got €54,806, over €38,865 of which was his graduity.

Castlebar man Frank Durcan was allocated €34,007 under the gratuity scheme. The former independent representative was in receipt of total of €45,565 last year.

Two former councillor who stood in last May's local elections and lost their seats have also received golden handshakes.

Tereasa McGuire, Fine Gael, Westport, got €40,703, of which €29,372 was a gratuity.

Teresa Whelan, Sinn Fèin, Belmullet, received a payment of €21,484, of which €9,787 was a gratuity.

Former Castlebar Sinn Féin Councillor Joe McHale did not qualify for a gratuity, but received a payment of €9,866.

All serving councillors are entitled to an annual allowance and representational payment, depending on the distance they travel to and from meetings.

The chairs and vice chair of the council and municipal districts got extra allowances as did the chairs of strategic policy committees.

The amount spend on attending conferences was €61,638.

The full breakdown of expenses is posted on our Facebook page.