Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

Under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2001 corruption is presumed where there is proof that certain persons in public office have received money or other benefits from a person who has an interest in the way certain functions are carried out or the outcome of specified decisions, including planning decisions. In effect, this reverses the normal burden of proof. A person who receives a payment in these circumstances will have to prove the payment is not corrupt, instead of the prosecution proving that it was. This should make the prosecution of corrupt payments much easier.

The Standards in Public Office Act 2001 provided for the establishment of the Standards in Public Office Commission with wide investigative powers, and the Members are aware of the facts there. The Act imposes on politicians an obligation to have one's tax affairs in order and to swear a statutory declaration that this is so. Members of the Dáil or Seanad are required to furnish annual statements of registerable interests. The Commission can also have regard to a person's compliance with the Local Government Code of Conduct in carrying out its functions.

The Electoral (Amendment) Acts 1998 and 2001, together with the Local Elections (Expenditure and Donations) Act 1999, strengthened substantially the controls that apply to political donations and election spending. The new controls included a requirement to open special accounts for political donations.

This corpus of legislation reflects the intent of the Government that our planning and local government systems, as well as the wider public service, are seen to operate to the highest standards of probity in the common interest. Therefore, I reject emphatically any suggestion that we are less than wholehearted in our pursuit of this objective.

I consider that the body of law I outlined provides a robust framework within which legitimate political donations can continue to be received across the political spectrum. I do not accept the proposal that all such donations from any particular group must be deemed undesirable per se. That is a nonsense. That discredits politics. I have outlined what the Government has done and emphasise, because Deputy O'Dowd is looking across at me, that this was built on a good foundation that was put in as we were coming into office. Those are the facts. There is a substantial body of legislation. It is new and it is working.

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