Conference gravy train comes to a halt

The conference gravy train for councillors has shuddered to a halt, according to newly released figures from Westmeath County Council.

Last year, Westmeath’s county councillors claimed only €13,327.82 in expenses and fees for 38 conference attendances, almost €20,000 less than in 2013 when our local representatives attended 70 conferences. The average claim per conference in 2013 was €480, €130 more than last year.

Westmeath’s councillors attended the same number of conferences (26) in the first five months of 2014 as they did in the same period of 2013. Interestingly the massive drop off - 12 conferences in the last seven months of last year as opposed to 54 for the same period in 2013 - occurred after new regulations were introduced in June that significantly reduced the amount of expenses and fees a councillor could claim.

Under the new regulations the amount a councillor could claim for conference expenses and fees was reduced from €4,700 per year to €700. Also, under the old system any underspend from other councillors could be used by another. This is now restricted to €1,000 per year, while all training courses are now provided by the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) and these training sessions are provided on a local or regional basis.

Prior to the changes being introduced, the majority of the conferences attended by Westmeath’s county councillors last year were in the likes of Donegal, Kerry and Cork, with an average claim of over €450. After the new regulations came in, the conferences were in places such as Tullamore, Athlone, Cavan and Meath and the average claim came down to just under €100.

Cllr Frank McDermott (FG) had the biggest claim last year (€2040.90, €595 of which was in fees), with four of his conference attendances coming in the first three months of the year.

Colm Arthur, who lost his seat in last summer’s local elections, has the second highest claim (€1,972.33, €600 of which was in fees), while the newly appointed cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Cllr Paul Daly (€1773.11, €345 of which was fees) had the third highest.