Staff at Louth County Council take the third highest amount of sick leave in the country when compared with other local authorities.

Figures released by Minister for the Environment show that the percentage of paid working days lost to medically certified sickness absence at Louth County Council was 4.74%. Only South Dublin County Council and Leitrim County Council staff missed more days at 5.2% respectively.

The figures relate to 2015 and is above the national average for the public service of 3.9%. The most recent comparisons showed that sick leave in local authorities was twice that of the public sector.

In 2013 figures from the Local Government Audit Service found Louth County Council staff missed an average of 15 working days per year. This was also the third highest in the country behind Limerick City and Waterford County.