What the pledge says is that I will not be taking the minimum of €35.8k (plus all the top-ups) in unvouched expenses during my term along with the other expenses taken by local Councillors.
Why? Currently Councillors do not have to submit receipts for their expenses: they’re unvouched, unreceipted and not transparent. I believe this system should be changed entirely, and to highlight how ridiculous the expenses system is, I’m refusing to take part in this broken system.
The Noel Rock No Expenses Pledge ultimately has three parts:
1. No unvouched expenses for me
2. Quarterly self-publication of donors to my campaigns and remuneration received, and a break down of how this is spent
3. A motion brought forward at the first possible opportunity to end the practice of flat, untransparent expenses.
It is disappointing, if perhaps unsurprising, that the status quo is being defended by sitting Councillors. We need to implement these changes, we need to make politics more transparent, we need to make the Council more accountable and we need to show leadership by example: the Noel Rock No Expenses Pledge seeks to do all of these things, and it’s just the first step in the work that I will be undertaking from May 2014.
To do this, I need all the help I can get. Tell any friends or family you have in Glasnevin, Whitehall, Drumcondra, Ballymun, Finglas, Santry or Beaumont about the pledge and explain to them why voting for Noel Rock is the only sure way to make this kind of change happen.