And councillors who failed to be re-elected can also expect a pay-off, provided they have served a minimum of two years on the Council.

The payments are still being calculated, a council official told the Limerick Leader this week, but little change is expected from the €250,000 set aside for the scheme in this year's budget.

Four retired councillors are expected to benefit almost immediately - John Gallahue, Eddie Creighton, Paddy McAuliffe, and Jim Houlihan. Two others - Noreen Ryan and Tom Neville - will not get the money until they are 50.

John Clifford, who served for 22 years on the council, will also benefit substantially, but former councillors James Cavanagh and Michael Mulcaire are ruled out of the scheme because they do not have the minimum of two years' service. Both men were co-opted to the council following the 2007 general election.

The calculations for what each councillor will get are complicated - and made more so, because a new scheme was introduced in 2000.

Under the old scheme, retired councillors or those who failed to be re-elected received an ex-gratia payment of between €400-714 for each year of service. The new "gratuity" scheme, available to those who have served since 2000, is calculated on the basic salary of €17,500, multiplied by the years of service and divided by five.

So, for example, a councillor with six years' service, such as Tom Neville, could expect to be eligible for a gratuity of approximately €20,000 - though he won't receive this until he is 50.

Because the other councillors in line for payment were elected prior to 2000, their pay-off will be a mix of both schemes. But former councillors with 10 years' service such as John Gallahue, Paddy McAuliffe and Noreen Ryan can expect about €30,000.

Eddie Creighton, with 18 years' service, Jim Houlihan with 24 years' service and John Clifford, a veteran of 22 years, can expect substantially more.

The council official said he expected the upper payment to be €40,000-42,000.

Cllr Cormac Hurley, who decided not to contest the County Council elections but who was instead elected to the City Council, is not eligible for the scheme. But his years of service on the County Council will be taken into account when he does decided to retire from local politics.