Rónán Mullen (Independent)

I endorse what has been said by Senators Mac Conghail and van Turnhout. Anyone who is honest about it would say that despite adjustments made in the system of paying expenses and allowances, and changes were made in recent years, we still have not arrived at a properly transparent system. Quite frankly, politicians are faced with a choice between the hassle of maintaining receipts for the purposes of claiming vouched expenses, in which case they are entitled to claim a larger amount of money, or an unvouched system which they quite understandably choose because it avoids hassle. If one is trying to create a properly transparent system, one must go by way of vouching all receipts and allowances.

While supporting what Senators van Turnhout and Mac Conghail have said, we need to widen this debate. I am contemplating tabling amendments on Report Stage to deal with the issue of the public funding of politics generally. It has often been said the reason for public funding of politics is to prevent vested interests from unduly influencing the political system. I wonder how much transparency there is in how political parties spend the public money they receive and to what extent this money is really used to advance their case for the following general election.

Public resources should be made available for the purpose of assisting elected Members to do their job. If one were to add up the amount of public money being spent on political parties one could probably, at a very rough estimate, hire an additional researcher for every elected Member of both Houses. This would be a much better way to use the money. We do not really know what is happening with regard to how political parties disburse the public money they receive and to what extent it contributes to their legislative efforts as opposed to their election efforts.

I welcome what has been said but certainly we need to widen the discussion to consider the public funding of politics. I will consider tabling amendments on this on Report Stage and I look forward to engaging with the Minister then.