Councillors with 16 years' service or more can apply for the cash

Opposition politicians claim the lack of information undermines the idea of bringing fresh blood into town halls.

Only eight of Wales' 22 councils have backed the scheme, but most are refusing to say which councillors have applied for the bonus of up to £20,000.

Last month, it was revealed that more than £1m of taxpayers' money could be paid to councillors who have served more than 16 years as part of the scheme.

Councils backing the scheme Carmarthenshire No names or numbers have been revealed but BBC Wales believes as many as 30 have applied Newport: No names or numbers have been released Ceredigion: 12 have applied, but names not released Flintshire: 13 have applied, but names not released Neath Port Talbot: 13 have applied Swansea: Nine have applied Torfaen: Six have applied Vale of Glamorgan: Five have applied, but names not released

BBC Wales has established that at least 58 councillors may take payments.

The total number may be higher, but two local authorities -Carmarthenshire and Newport - have declined to reveal how many people have applied.

In Ceredigion, Plaid Cymru leader Penri James has demanded the authority release the names of the dozen who have applied for the payments.

Councillors known to have applied Neath Port Talbot: Stan Atherton, Noel Crowley, Mairwen Goodridge, Idwal Griffiths, Malcolm Harris, Bill Harris, Charles Henrywood, Mel John, Glaslyn Morgan, Tom Morgans, Reg Teale, Silvan Thomas, Ted Wheatley Swansea: Holland Ayres, Derek Cox, Vernon Davies, Lilian Hopkin, Tyssul Lewis, Howard Morgan, Dereck Roberts, June Stanton, Gareth Williams Torfaen: Margaret Howell, Kath Edmunds, Brian Smith, Anita Lloyd, Fred Bacon, Jim Davies

He said any new would-be councillors will not know where to stand if they do not know which veterans are standing down.

But a council spokeswoman said it was protecting councillors' privacy.

However, at least two other authorities - Swansea and Neath Port Talbot - have revealed names of those retiring.

Sue Essex, the assembly minister responsible for the scheme, has said it is up to councils to decide how much to reveal.

The plan has attracted much criticism, with former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies saying it would "bribe" councillors with taxpayers' money not to put themselves forward for election.

Rosemary Watkins, a pensioner from Cwmbran, was so angry when her local authority, Torfaen, voted in favour of the scheme that she collected a 2,000-signature protest petition.