Leitrim Council will pay more than €555,000 in bonuses to former councillors.

Local representatives are entitled to receive a gratuity payment when leaving a council after turning 50, regardless of whether they retire or seek other employment.

The Irish Independent reported that €9.5 million in these payments will be distributed to former council members across Ireland.

In Leitrim, eight former councilors and one sitting councilor will receive bonuses.

Fine Gael councilor Enda McGloin, who remains an active Ballinamore councillor, has received €34,000.

This is because in 2014, Cllr McGloin lost his seat after 10 years of serving on Leitrim County Council, making him eligible for redundancy pay.

However, he was 45 years old at the time and was not able to collect it until he was 50 years old.

In January 2019, when he turned 50, he was informed by Leitrim County Council that a payment was due and he completed all the necessary forms.

The payment was then issued in May 2019, just before his re-election.

Cllr McGloin said he was entitled to payment under the existing agreement, adding that if the schedule had been extended to June 2019, it would not have been included in the initial report.

Former independent councilor Gerry Dolan will receive the highest payment, amounting to almost €96,000.

Caillian Ellis and Frank Dolan will receive more than €90,000 and Seán McDermott will receive more than €89,500.

Sinéad Guckian is expected to receive more than €68,000, while Carrick-on-Shannon Chamber president Finola Armstrong Maguire is expected to receive more than €45,000.

Thomas Mulligan will receive more than €22,500 and Gerry Kilrane will receive €19,300.

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