Michael Pidgeon

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145 appearances 2 recordings 2 series first heard Jun 2026 last heard 22 Jun

Michael Pidgeon’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 2 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 2.

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The Claire Byrne Show · Irish cities may soon be able to introduce a tourism tax · 22 Jun 2026 podcast

I could give a direct answer as an example.

Maybe he wouldn't want to spend it like this, but 12 million a year would be roughly what would be raised by a 1% service charge or hotel tax in Dublin City Council.

That would be 250 in and around full-time street cleaners.

So there's one example of what you want to do.

Now, you might say, actually, we'd prefer...

30% of the money to go into parks or something other than street cleaning, cultural events, that sort of thing.

That's absolutely fine.

But I think the reason the conversation starts with the money is because that's ultimately where a lot of ideas go to die in city councils, because you just don't have the funds for them.

So as a city councillor, I'm always looking for ways to improve the city.

And whether you're running a hotel or a city council, you always know you have to invest some money in order to get a return.

And this, I think, is an idea whose time has come.

You mentioned that there's a lot of momentum behind it.

I think that's because a lot of people travel, sometimes are levied with this tax.

No one likes the tax, but you don't really mind it.

That's been my experience, to be honest with you.

It's a very low level, 1% on your hotel bill, and it's going to the city or the town you're visiting.

I've never really minded that.

I suspect most people are the same.

I understand why the Hotels Federation would lobby against a tax facing the hotel sector.

That totally makes sense.

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