The Green Party in Co. Leitrim has fired the first shot in its Local Election campaign by announcing that any Green candidates elected to Leitrim County Council will enter into a voluntary cap on expenses.

This cap will be set at €3,000 per annum, which in addition to a Councillors salary of €17,000, means that Green Party councillors will receive no more than €20,000 per annum from Leitrim County Council. The national average for Councillors is €33,347.

In addition, Green Party councillors will not undertake any foreign travel, and all expense claims made by Green Party councillors in Co. Leitrim will be published on the group’s website at the same time as they are made.

Annoucing the move, Green Party candidate in Manorhamilton, Gerry Farry, said:

“An investigation by the Irish Independent this year revealed some of ludicrous charges that Councillors across the country were making on the public purse. For instance, one Councillor charged the full cost of his Masters Degree to his Local Authority, while another charged for trips to places like Buenos Aires and Hong Kong”.

“At a time when the taxpayers funds are becoming ever more scarce, this is totally unacceptable.”

The party’s candidate in Dromahair, Johnny Gogan, said that if elected, Green Party candidates would use their expense allowance wisely.

“As chairman of Leitrim’s Mobile Cinema company until last year I was able to oversee an expansion and re-branding of the company’s services while the Council was cutting its grant to the facility by fifty per cent. We intend to be just as creative with Council resources when in office”

“It doesn’t make sense for every councillor to attend every event on every subject. We will evaluate the various seminars and conferences that come up, and if we feel that Leitrim has something to gain from our attendance, one of us we will go along.”

“We certainly don’t see any point in leaving the country to attend events. There is enough for Councillors to be doing at local level without having to be jetting around the globe.”

Carrick on Shannon candidate, Garreth McDaid, said that Councillors should set an example when it comes to the public purse.

“Extreme pressure will be put on the Local Government Fund over the coming years, and we want Councillors to do their part to ensure that services are protected to the greatest extent possible.”

“The Council’s budget should be used to maintain roads, provide recreation facilities for young people and protect our environment; it should not be used to pay Councillors to attend conferences at luxury hotels.”

ENDS