Clare officials paid €170,000 in bonuses

Six Clare County Council officials were given an estimated €170,000 between them in bonus payments this year.

The payments were made to county manager Alec Fleming and his five directors of service, who availed for the first time of bonus payments paid to top-ranking public servants.

In addition, 15 planners received a total of €112,500 last September for work carried out dealing with a deluge of planning applications brought about by a Government tax-incentive scheme.

The payments to the planners were detailed in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Fianna Fáil councillor Tom Prendeville yesterday called on Mr Fleming to give "a full and frank disclosure" in relation to the payments.

Cllr Prendeville said to his knowledge, the elected members of Clare County Council were not aware of the bonus payments.

"I will be asking the manager how the payments to both himself and the directors of service can be justified and who got paid what and for what."

"There is a question of accountability here and the concerns of the councillors and the public on the issue of these payments should be allayed by the manager with a full disclosure."

Mr Fleming yesterday refused to provide the total bonus figure received by him and the five directors of service that operate the council's various programmes, including planning, roads and housing. "As the numbers involved in the scheme in Clare are small it would not be appropriate to give details of the amount for the county," he said.

The payments are awarded by the Department of Finance's Committee for the Performance Awards (CPA).

Last year, average bonus payments based on performance to senior public servants was about €10,000.

Mr Fleming receives a salary of €109,000, while the salary scale for directors of service ranges from €72,000 to €86,000. Last year, the council executive claimed €59,000 in expenses.

In response to the FOI request, the council refused to reveal the amount of each payment to each senior official and the criteria used, saying the information was personal.

The council did confirm that 15 planners each received €7,500, while two consultants were also paid €16,600 for work connected to the large volume of planning applications in 2005.