It’s important that we know about politicians’ private interests – to ensure they’re acting honestly. Transparency is a useful basis for trust.
You can read the formal ethics and donation statements since I was elected here. However those forms are a bare minimum and aren’t updated as things change – I’ve gone into greater detail below.
Last updated: 4th April 2025
Income
I work full time as a councillor. My basic salary is €31,045 a year. (Prior to July 2021, the basic salary was substantially lower, at roughly €17,000.)
From before the election until 1st of October, 2021 I also worked as Head of Communications at the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, but gave up the role to focus on council work. While I was with the INMO, I generally steered clear of health sector-related topics in my role as a councillor, to avoid conflicts of interest.
In 2022, I received a €100 fee for an article I wrote for the Irish Times, based on a blog published earlier. I also received a One4All voucher as a “thank you” for being a participant in the Citizens’ Assembly on Dublin.
For retirement, I’m enrolled in pension scheme at the INMO and have previously paid in to the TUC‘s pension scheme in the UK.
You can see my previous employment history on my Linkedin page.
Expenses
The system of expenses for councillors was overhauled in 2021. The new system allows claims for vouched expenses up to a maximum of €4,200, along with an unvouched “petty cash” €960 – both rates are set nationally by the Department of Local Government. There is also a “travel and subsistence” expense of up to €5,204.79 a year, which is dependent on a minimum 80% attendance at the various council meetings.
For vouched expenses, I generally receive expenses for the basic mobile phone bill (€15 per month), and 20% of my broadband bill, along with costs for this website, and some printing costs – either for leaflets or local updates on letterheads.
In 2022, I had €874.14 in vouched expenses (21% of the allowed maximum). In 2023, I had €1,853.35 in vouched expenses (44% of the allowed maximum).
Councillors are also assigned a training budget of a maximum of €1,000 a year. I have used this fund twice, for €300 in 2023 to attend a Trinity College course on the economics of the property market and for €230 in 2025 for a Law Society course on legislative processes.
There is also a fund of up to €700 a year for councillors to attend conferences. I’ve never used this.
Assets
In October 2020, I bought a house in Inchicore. This is with a mortgage which is due to be paid off in the 2050s. I live there with my wife and our child.
Prior to October 2020, I was renting a room in an apartment, sharing with a friend, in Kilmainham. Before that, I was renting in Rialto with another friend. I previously rented in London (2015-2018), Brussels (2012-2015), and Hanoi (2010-2011).
I don’t own any other land or property, don’t have any shares, and I’m not a director of any company.
Memberships
I am a member of the Dublin Cycling Campaign, the Dublin Commuter Coalition and the National Union of Journalists. I don’t hold any position in either, but was previously a union rep (“Father of the Chapel”, as they call it in the NUJ) at the TUC in London.
I’m a founding member (and currently chair) of the Dublin Metropolitans, a GAA rounders club. I’m also a founding member of the Irish language Republic of Ireland Soccer Supporters’ Club, and have an FAI season ticket through them.
I have previously been a member of the London Cycling Campaign, and the trade unions Unison (UK) and Metallos (Belgium).
You’ll be shocked to hear that I am also a member of the Green Party/Comhaontas Glas. I first became active in 2006. Recently, I sat on the party’s national Executive Committee for three years from 2020 until 2023 – chairing it for 2022. I am on various internal committees and groups.
As a councillor, I’m a member of the Inchicore Regeneration Consultative Forum and the Dolphin House & Park Joint Regeneration Board.
None of the above positions involve any payment or expenses. Within the Council, I am also a member of the Finance Strategic Policy Committee , and the protocol committee.
Donations and campaign spending
In the 2019 local election campaign, I spent €6,867.76, from September 2018 to May 2019. This went on a variety of things, including posters, leaflets, and letters. This is a minimum cost, and doesn’t cover some of the harder-to-count costs such as the odd bus fare, pints for canvassers, etc.
To cover the cost of the 2019 campaign, I fundraised €6,405.22. The main sources of funds were a grant from the Green Party’s election fund and a table quiz in 2018, which raised €1,413.70. I received 56 donations in addition to this, primarily via GoFundMe. The median donation was €41.58.
Once the 2019 campaign ended, I hadn’t sought, received or been offered any donation, until I began fundraising for the 2024 election campaign on 7th June 2023.
This fundraising was primarily through a a GoFundMe page, and overall I raised €6,040. The median donation I received was €45. In the 2024 local election campaign, I spent €6,149.62.
In my daily work as a councillor, I don’t accept gifts and have (politely!) refused any offered. The only exceptions I know of to the “no gift” rule have been a cup of coffee when meeting a shop/cafe owner in 2021, a weaved key chain decoration from a community group in 2022, and a small lapel badge I was given by a senator in 2024 , all each with a likely with a monetary value under €5.
Lobbying
As a councillor, I am a “designated public official” under the Lobbying Act 2015. This means that if I am lobbied by a person or organisation meeting certain criteria, they must register the interaction with the Standards in Public Office Commission.
They have a special site for this, Lobbying.ie. You can see a list of all the records relating to my work as a councillor here.
I’ve tried to be as thorough as I can, but if there is any other area you think I should declare, please do let me know on michael@pidgeon.ie