David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Regarding my final set of questions, it would be remiss of us not to ask about our own expenditure and what we incur. My first question in that territory is on the funding for political parties. It is something that is largely misunderstood. There is an obvious logic to it as it reduces the dependency on corporate donations, which we have very strict controls on, thankfully, in the State. I am personally in favour of State funding for political parties, groupings and Independents. How does it work? As we do during the so-called silly season, we will have any number of articles on expenses for politicians and how much political parties and Independents cost the State. That is all grand as we all have to be held to account. Sometimes, however, the facts underpinning it are not always put out there. How does it work? How are political parties funded and what was the total cost for each grouping in 2018?