€500,000 in retirement gratuities are going to outgoing midlands councillors
Councillors who bowed out at May's local elections are to receive retirement gratuities of at least €6 million in total.
In the midlands, four of them will get at least €70,000 each.
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 aren't 50 years old will only receive the payments when they reach that age.
28 of the 31 local authorities across Ireland have now released the details of the amounts to be paid, following freedom of information requests.
In the midlands, Offaly County Council has the highest bill - with four former reps due almost €220,000 in total.
That includes Fine Gael's Tommy McKeigue and Fianna Fáil's Noel Bourke - receiving over €70,000 euro each for 34 and 28 years of service respectively.
That's followed by Laois, where three former councillors are receiving just over €200,000.
€71,000 goes to former Fine Gael rep John Moran, while his party colleague David Goodwin tops the list in the midlands, getting over €78,000.
The figure drops considerably in Westmeath, with almost €80,000 going to five former reps.
Former indepedent councillor Paul Hogan leads there, getting just over €17,000.
A former Laois councillor feels the payments are justified because of the years of service put in.
Retired Fine Gael rep John Moran says he dedicated 28 years to Laois County Council:
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