Candidate pledges to plough payments into developing parks

A GREEN PARTY local election candidate has pledged that if elected on Friday, he will plough all his council payments and expenses into developing public parks.

Ken Walsh, 41, who is standing for election in the Cork North East ward, said he would find a way of using the representational payment and the wide range of expenses to which he as a city councillor would be entitled, to improve local parks and public spaces in his area.

Safeguarding and developing the Tank Field and Camp Field as parks would be his top priorities, he said.

Each of the city’s 31 councillors gets a flat rate representation payment of about €17,000. They can also claim for expenses to cover phone bills and travel costs.

It cost taxpayers just under €1 million to pay allowances and expenses to the city’s councillors last year.

A total of €985,201 – an average of more than €82,000 per month – was paid out between January 1 and December 31 last year.

Councillors received an average of €31,780 each – made up of the representational payment, general expenses, conference expenses, mobile phone costs and travel expenses.

The largest amounts were claimed by the lord mayors, Cllr Donal Counihan and Cllr Brian Bermingham, who claimed €74,812.61 and €73,058.88 respectively

Mr Walsh, a married father-of-two who lives in Montenotte, earns close to €250,000 in his role as consultant anaesthetist in Cork University Hospital.

“This is my own pledge. I am not judging other councillors who accept the payments,” he said.

“It is a fair salary and people should not think badly of them for that.

“But I would rather that money be used to create green spaces and public parks in my own area.”

A fellow Green candidate, Mick Murphy, called for local politicians to lead by example and accept a 20% pay cut.

“I feel that a voluntary reduction in councillors’ pay would show leadership, and would put moral pressure on politicians at a national level to follow suit,” he said.

“It would send out a message that Cork’s city councillors are serious about their elected positions, and are not just boarding the gravy train for another five year party.”