Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is not the function of the registrar to oversee the property portfolios of political parties but to ensure political parties meet the criteria required for registration. Transparency of property portfolios is more appropriate for inclusion in the annual statement of accounts that every political party is required to furnish to the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, under Part IX of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended. In this regard, I am proposing my own amendments to Part IX by way of the insertion of a new Part 6 into the Bill. The new Part 6 will provide for a number of amendments to the 1997 Act that are intended to strengthen our political funding regime against financial resources from outside the State being used to influence our electoral and democratic processes. These amendments will introduce a requirement on each political party to disclose in its annual statement of accounts all property within the ownership or control of the party. Therefore, I will not be supporting amendment No. 36.