Councillors who bowed out at May's local elections are to receive retirement gratuities of at least €6m in total. Councillors who lost their seats in May, or chose not to contest the elections, are entitled to a lump sum based on their experience on the local authority. Most of these payments have been processed, but those who are not 50 years old will only receive the payments when they reach that age. Topping the list is Longford's Luie McEntire, who quit after 40 years of service - he was paid just under €80,000 in June. "In my situation, for 40 years service, it works out at about €29 a week that I would have got as a pension."

Source: Irish Examiner October 15, 2019 06:00 UTC