Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 35:

In page 39, lines 15 and 16, to delete all words from and including “(1)” in line 15 down to and including line 16 and substitute the following: “(1) The Registrar shall maintain the Register of Political Parties and shall cause it to be published on the Commission’s website.

(2) The Registrar shall in addition cause to be published on the Commission’s website, in respect of each political party registered in the Register, a copy of the constitution, memorandum of association or other such document or other written rules that was provided to the Registrar by that party for the purposes of section 44(c).”.

The amendment is self-explanatory. It would simply require the commission to publish on its website all the information it is required to have. We know there is a degree of transparency in respect of how parties operate. My party, for example, publishes its constitution, memorandums and so on in order that everyone knows how decisions are made. The amendment is not necessarily reinventing the wheel. The register of political parties will be required to have party constitutions, memorandums and articles of association and so on. It is not a big step to require the commission to publish all of that information. It is important for it to do so and I hope the Minister of State will consider agreeing to the amendment.