It's official: Galway councillors finally get online payslips in national rollout

After years of campaigning, elected representatives are finally being given electronic payslips as part of a nationwide rollout by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), ending years of reliance on paper payslips sent through the post.

Published 21st Jul 2026, 07:00 BST Iconic After years of campaigning, elected representatives are finally being given electronic payslips as part of a nationwide rollout by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), ending years of reliance on paper payslips sent through the post. Sign up to our Connacht Tribune Today daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Connacht Tribune within your account.

This brings local government payroll in line with modern workplace practices and has been welcomed by Independent County Cllr Geraldine Donohue, who has been pressing for online payslips since she was first elected.

Cllr Donohue said she was delighted to receive notification that the new online portal was now available, as receiving only postal payslips was “bizarre”.

“Coming from a payroll and accounts background, I thought it was bizarre that we were getting paper payslips in the post.

“It is good that Galway County Council and other local authorities are moving in the right direction. It will be a cost saving measure and I welcome it.”

The new portal allows councillors to securely access and download their payslips whenever they need them, making it easier to keep records.

Cllr Donohue first raised the issue in 2019, writing to then Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Peter Burke seeking the introduction of electronic payslips for councillors and local authority staff.

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The Minister confirmed at the time that the LGMA was examining the introduction of online payslips as part of a new national HR and payroll system for the local government sector.

“I have campaigned for this since 2019 and it is crazy that it has taken this long,” continued Cllr Donohue.

After continuing to seek updates, she was informed that the LGMA had completed trials of several systems.

“The LGMA considered four options and carried out proof of concepts for each solution with a pilot site for this project,” a representative said in correspondence seen by the Connacht Tribune.

“The proof of concepts included technical assessment of data protection, cyber security and user experience. The online portal has now been rolled out successfully in the live pilot site. Rollout has also commenced with all local authorities across the sector.”

The project will take six weeks to implement across three payroll cycles. The portal is available to councillors, local authority staff and pensioners, while those who wish to continue receiving paper payslips can still do so.

The LGMA said the move will improve data security, provide a consistent system across the local government sector and reduce printing and postage costs.

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