Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

There are quite a few amendments, a total of 19, in case Members had not noticed. They all deal with amendments to the key provisions in the Bill relating to the restriction of corporate donations and the registration of corporate donors. Before dealing with the substantive points raised by the amendments, I wish to address briefly the provisions contained in the sections identified for amendment.

Section 7 effect to a ban on the acceptance from a corporate donor of a donation in a particular year, the value of which exceeds €200, unless the corporate donor is registered with the Standards in Public Office Commission and the donation is accompanied by a statement confirming that the donation has been properly approved by the donor.

Section 8 provides for the registration with the Standards in Public Office Commission of a corporate donor intending to make a donation for political purposes of more than €200 in a given year. Section 10 extends the scope of the existing offences and penalties provisions in the Act to take account of the additional requirements being introduced by the Bill relating to the acceptance of corporate donations and the registration of corporate donors. Section 11 provides for a reduction from €5,078.95 or £4,000, as it was when the Act was originally introduced, to €200 in the amount above which donations made by companies, trade unions, societies and building societies must be reported in the respective annual reports or returns.

Section 19 inserts new definitions into the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999, arising from the new corporate donations provisions. Section 21 provides for the restriction on the acceptance of corporate donations to apply at local government level, and section 24 extends the scope of the existing offences and penalties provisions under the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 to take account of the additional requirements being introduced by the Bill in relation to the acceptance of corporate donations and the registration of corporate donors.

Amendment No. 3 from Senator Mac Conghail and the Independent Senators proposes an outright ban on corporate donations, and the purpose of the combined Sinn Féin amendments is similar and would effectively delete most of the provisions dealing with corporate donations from the Bill. The approach is not legally sound and I will deal with that aspect in a moment.

I welcome the acknowledgment implicit in the amendments from Sinn Féin that an exemption should be made for payments to student societies when restrictions on corporate donations are being introduced by the Bill. The relevant provisions are not being deleted by the Sinn Féin amendments. In opposing the amendments from the Independent Senators and Sinn Féin, the objective of the Government is to restrict the influence of corporate donations on politics in Ireland and to enhance the openness and transparency of the whole system of political funding. Notwithstanding that we are talking about money and contributions, it is impossible to stop people from being corrupt. If wealthy individuals want to exercise undue influence, they will continue to be able to do so, but we want to have restrictions on the financial element of it so that money will not buy influence, undue influence or anything like that. Again, this will not stop people and there will always be occasions when people will try to exercise undue influence by means other than by contributions to the political process. The Bill will do what it can to ensure openness and transparency in the system of political funding. The Government will do this to the maximum extent possible and in a way which will not create an undue administrative burden and that is constitutionally permissible.

Amendment No. 5 from Senator Mullen proposes a reduction from €200 to €1 in the amount above which a donation could not be accepted from a corporate donor unless the donor was registered with the Standards in Public Office Commission and that the donation was approved in the prescribed manner by the corporate donor. Amendments Nos. 13 and 17 contain related provisions. I have already mentioned this would cause an administrative nightmare. I know why the Senator has tabled this amendment, having heard his contribution. I can understand the concept of what he is trying to achieve but I think it would raise a lot of issues regarding the administration of that scheme.

Amendment No. 6 from the Fianna Fáil Senators proposes a reduction from €200 to €100. The sum of €200 is based on practical considerations about implementation. Placing the additional disclosure and approval conditions on relatively small donations of under €200 from businesses or organisations, would not be fair or practical. For example, if there was no lower limit, a local business placing a poster in a shop window in support of a candidate, could be regarded as having a corporate donation by way of benefit-in-kind.