Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

No, I am a man of few words and I will be brief.

We are all products of our environment. This Bill, more than any other, brings home that politicians are parochial. I feel humble in the company of Deputies Perry and Ellis and the Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. I do not believe there are many changes proposed to the constituency Deputy Catherine Murphy represents. Representatives have experienced radical alterations in recent times with changes in constituency boundaries.

I regret that Deputy Finian McGrath is not present. I listened to some of his contribution and it was full of vitriol. I become weary of candidates being elected to this House, claiming a monopoly on integrity and honesty and having a go at the main political parties. I am sure that most, if not all, Independents are decent honourable people, as are the elected members of political parties. It ill behoves Independents to point the finger at the political parties.

When the Standards in Public Office Commission passed its judgment on election spending, I was in my office and heard that I had overspent on the election. The latter, however, was not the case. I ask the commission that before making such pronouncements in the future to check its information with the Members whom it deems have overspent in order to ensure it is correct. The commission made errors. In addition, if it carries out investigations after an election into campaign spending, it should contact the candidates who are being investigated. It did not do that on the last occasion. I am aware that in the Wicklow constituency it contacted contractors but not any of the candidates.

I checked the information on election spending in the Oireachtas Library and I hope Deputy Finian McGrath will do so before Committee Stage. He will find that one of his Independent colleagues used more public funding than any other Member. I exclude from this Ministers, who, in many respects, were obliged to submit inaccurate figures, so to speak, because they had to provide details of square footage of offices and so on. One candidate spent in the region of €15,000 to €16,000, which he was entitled to do, on Oireachtas envelopes. Deputy Finian McGrath should not make pronouncements about political parties. I look forward to him dealing with that issue on Committee Stage, particularly as he was so anxious to defend the rights of Independent Members, with the vast majority of whom I have no difficulty.

I am delighted that the commission made no change to the Wicklow constituency. That constituency comprises the county of Wicklow and a small area of Carlow — which the Leas-Cheann Comhairle once represented — for which I am grateful. More submissions were made in respect of this section of the country and Leitrim, although not as many were made in respect of Leitrim because the change that will affect that county was not anticipated. Many submissions were made in respect of the area of Carlow that became part of the Wicklow constituency. Every submission, with the exception of that which I put forward, wanted it to be returned. I stated a valid reason for my view, namely, that voter turnout in that area of Carlow increased by 5% to 6% between 1997 and 2002. One of the reasons for this is the fact that the natural hinterland of that area of Carlow is in County Wicklow. I am glad to represent those people, as are the other Deputies in Wicklow. We hope they will be treated in the same manner as people in the other part of the constituency.

I would like the Minister to bring forward, between now and Committee Stage, a proposal to limit the spend between elections. Some politicians have a great ability to fundraise. They give large donations to various groups such as sporting clubs, many of which have merit in their own right. However, I am concerned that representatives who have access to a great deal of money can make donations between elections or following the calling of an election. That would have a strong bearing on how candidates fare in an election. It is unfair that the expenditure of income between elections may influence a vote. I ask the Minister of State to consider putting a cap — of between €1,000, to €3,000 per year — on moneys politicians donate between elections to various organisations. There is much merit in that suggestion. There is room for manoeuvre in the Bill to do it and I ask the Minister of State to consider it.

Encouraging people to register to vote is a perennial problem. Some local authorities are good at doing that, others are not so good. We have to examine best practice and try to implement it throughout the country.

Some people might find it difficult to understand but many people believe politicians know how they vote and they are subject to intimidation by certain people. It is important to get the message to the general public that nobody knows how a person votes in an election unless the person reveals that information. People are entitled to privacy in the ballot box and they should never feel intimidated into voting or not voting for a particular candidate.

See this speech in context