Payments to Tipperary’s 40 county councillors climbed to almost €1.83 million during 2025, with Thurles representative Mr Sean Ryan, (Fianna Fáil), finishing among the five highest-paid elected members in the county.
Figures published through Tipperary County Council’s public payments register show that councillors across the county’s five municipal districts received a combined €1,828,735.43 during the year. That represents an increase of €86,658 compared with the corresponding total for 2024.
The published amount covers more than expenses in the everyday sense. The council’s register includes councillors’ basic remuneration, annual allowances, vouched local-representation expenses, additional payments for holding senior council positions, training and conference costs, and payments from external bodies.
Fianna Fáil councillor Mr Sean Ryan was the highest-placed Thurles representative in the countywide rankings. He received €54,226.22 in total during 2025, making him Tipperary’s fourth-highest-paid councillor.
His overall payment included the standard councillor’s salary of €30,932, together with the various allowances and expenses available to elected representatives. Cllr Mr Ryan also received an additional €6,000 for serving as Chair of one of Tipperary County Council’s strategic policy committees.
Strategic policy committees (SPC), help develop and review council policy in areas such as housing, roads, planning, economic development and community services. Their Chairs take on responsibilities beyond the ordinary workload of a councillor and consequently qualify for an additional allowance.
The prominent position of Thurles councillor Mr Sean Ryan in the rankings, reflects the additional payment attached to his SPC chairmanship, as well as the security allowance recorded during the year. His total was almost €3,000 higher than that of the councillor immediately below him in the top five.
Cllr Mr Ryan was also one of only two Tipperary councillors recorded as receiving a security-related allowance during the year, claiming €2,750 in the third quarter of 2025.
Note: “Security allowances” are intended to help local representatives pay for measures designed to improve their personal safety. Eligible measures can include CCTV systems, intruder alarms and panic buttons installed at a councillor’s home.
The other recipient was Clonmel Fine Gael councillor Mr John Fitzgerald, who received a security payment of €2,777.75 during the final quarter. Cllr Fitzgerald ranked fifth overall, with total payments of €51,971.83.
Tipperary’s highest-paid councillor in 2025 was Fianna Fáil’s Mr John Carroll, who received €60,644.22. Cllr Carroll became Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council in June and received €6,923.10 in connection with that office during the year.
His total also included the basic annual remuneration of €30,932, annual allowances of €6,958 and €1,577.23 through the Local Representation Allowance, (LRA).
The LRA is a vouched scheme through which councillors can recover qualifying costs incurred while carrying out their work as public representatives.
Fine Gael councillor Mr Declan Burgess was narrowly behind Cllr Mr Carroll, receiving €60,580.61. Cllr Burgess, who had been the county’s highest-paid councillor in 2024, received €13,846.20 in Cathaoirleach allowances relating to his period in the Chair before Cllr Mr Carroll’s election.
His 2025 payments also included almost €31,000 in basic remuneration, annual expenses of €5,834 and €3,248 under the LRA scheme. His total increased from €59,114.09 in 2024.
Ms Mary Hanna Hourigan occupied third place, with payments totalling €55,201.47. Alongside her €30,932 basic remuneration, she received €6,253 under the LRA, annual expenses of €6,549 and a €6,000 allowance for Chairing a strategic policy committee.
At the opposite end of the table, Carrick-on-Suir Fianna Fáil councillor Ms Amy Goldsboro received the lowest total, at €34,388.39.
Independent councillor Mr Micheál Lowry was the second-lowest recipient, with €37,743.48.
Ms Pamela Quirke O’Meara received €38,635, Ms Louise Morgan Walsh was paid €39,019, and Mr Joe Hannigan received €39,205.
Fine Gael’s Ms Peggy Ryan, representing the Thurles Municipal District, received €42,076.44 in total payments during 2025.
The council’s quarterly registers show the total included her basic remuneration, annual and local-representation allowances, payments connected with chairing the Thurles Municipal District from June, and payments from the Southern Regional Assembly. For example, she received €1,384.62 as an MD chair allowance in Q3 and €1,615.39 in Q4. She also recorded external-body payments of €474.58 in Q3 and €794.15 in Q4.
Note: “External-body payments” are payments councillors receive from organisations outside Tipperary County Council on which they serve as council representatives. They generally relate to attendance, travel or subsistence, rather than additional council salary.
That places her outside the five highest-paid councillors but above several representatives at the lower end of the countywide table.
The complete register, which provides quarterly details of remuneration, allowances and other costs for each elected representative, is available through Tipperary County Council’s Councillor Payments Register.
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