The Dublin councillor taking transparency to the extreme - He declares it all

Transparency and politics have had a divisive history, but one Green Party councillor is going against the grain by laying it all out - even down to a single cup of coffee

News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 16:14, 12 Aug 2026 View Image Green Party Councillor Michael Pidgeon

Politicians are legally required to declare things like their sources of income or private interests, but few go as far as documenting a single cup of coffee received from a disgruntled shop owner.

But that’s exactly what Green Party Councillor Michael Pidgeon has done, as he’s taken transparency to the next level by clearly outlining his personal information for all to see on his website. The Dublin South West Inner City politician believes it is important the public can examine a politician’s private interests to confirm their carrying out their duties honestly, and said being as transparent as possible is a good way of ensuring this.

Politicians raking up massive bills on business-class flights and expensive stays often garner big headlines in the media and there’s a perception that dodgy deals benefiting a representative's private interests are not uncommon. By being truly transparent and going further than what’s legally required, Cllr Pidgeon said politicians can help avoid distrust among the general public.

“I have worked in Irish politics at a national, local, and European-ish level for a long time and I haven't seen much dodgy dealing or what I would regard as corruption. There seems to be a bit of sense that politicians are often giving out contracts or messing with procurement and I haven't seen that and in many ways I think it would be quite difficult for politicians to do it. But I think that if you want to avoid that perception - want to avoid distrust - transparency is a really good way to do it,” Cllr Pidgeon stated in a video posted on social media.

From outlining his basic salary of just under €32,000 a year to including any claimed vouched expenses (which have a maximum cap of €4,200 per year), Cllr Pidgeon leaves little doubt about where his money comes from. Although he has a ‘no gifts policy,’ he still made sure to include the “slip-ups,” like a cup of coffee given to him by the shop owner “after a row about a bike lane” in 2021 or a weaved key chain he received from a community group in 2022.

These additions may seem so inconsequential that one would wonder if they need to be included at all, but it’s this meticulous attention to detail that ensures true transparency. If every politician was this scrupulous and forthcoming it would be a lot clearer whose palms are being greased or when a so-called gift is being given with an expectation of something in return.

It’s true that politicians already need to declare politician donations exceeding €600 and can’t accept an anonymous donation exceeding €100, but this kind of detailed information about what politicians will or won't accept can be difficult to source. This informed Cllr Pidgeon’s decision to just lay everything out in one easy to find place.

“The legal requirement is pretty good in terms of what you have to declare. It's pretty decent, but it’s just that all of it lives in documents that are just scanned, not searchable, and put up on one PDF on the council website. Unless you're really determined to find out, it can be pretty tricky to discover this stuff,” Cllr Pidgeon told Dublin Live.

He also outlines anything that could be perceived as a conflict of interest, stating he previously worked as Head of Communications at the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) before focusing on council work full time. During that period, Cllr Pidgeon said he steered clear of health-related topics.

“During Covid , the union wanted free parking near hospitals for healthcare staff. Whatever you think about the idea for or against, I felt it was kind of a conflict of interest. So anytime it came up in the council I would put my hand up and say, ‘Just so you know, I’m leaving the room’,” he said.

“It was a bit over the top maybe, but you don’t want people feeling that someone who pays the piper plays the tune.”

Cllr Pidgeon says that as a local city councillor “I don’t exactly have a lot of power,” but that when there’s so much scepticism online around how and why certain decisions are made he can ensure everyone knows where he stands on any issue. He admits one thing that does worry him is any information he’s forgotten to include and he welcomes input from people who have suggestions for additional relevant information.

“I don't publish things like my home address on it. You can still respect your own privacy, but I think it's probably about as far as you can go… I'm just trying to be as upfront as I can, short of publishing my bank account number!” he joked.

The ethos behind Cllr Pidgeon’s transparency may very well be spreading, as his party colleague and Ballyfermot-Drimnagh representative Cllr Ray Cunningham has also added a transparency section to his own website. Whether all councillors, TDs, and ministers should follow suit is up for debate, but if they did it would certainly set a new standard for accountability and demonstrate in no uncertain terms where vested interests lay.

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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