Local politicians have been awarded a pay rise of almost €10,000 by Ministers.
Cabinet has signed off on new legislation that will see the country’s 949 city and county councillors go home with a paypacket worth €35,000 every year from now on.
It will cost the taxpayer an extra €9million a year.
The juicy pay hikes kick in from July 1st and have been introduced by the Government on foot of an independent report.
The report by Sarah Moorhead delivered interim recommendations in 2018, with the final report - including the €8k pay rise suggestion - presented last September.
But the political hot potato has not been handled until now.
Ms Moorhead recommended that the part-time politicians - many say they work fulltime as councillors - deserve considerable pay increases.
The Government has now acted on this report, bringing the basic councillors’ pay up from €18,705 to €25,788 per annum.
Under the old regime they were able to claim basic expenses worth €2,400, along with a phone allowance of €600 a year.
These have now been bundled in together and increased from €3,000 to €5,160, which must be fully vouched.
Alongside this, a councillor claims an average sum of €3,850 in T&A (Travel and Subsistence) every year, and this remains unaffected.
The extra allowances for chairing committees, or chairing the council itself, becoming a Mayor, worth up to another €30,000, will not be cut.
The average councillor will now get €34,800.
A spokesman for the Government last night defended the pay hikes.
He said: “the role of Councillor is an important one, particularly in relation to statutory policy making and strategic development of our communities, governance of the local authority, local leadership and advocacy, and community representation.”
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