John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I understand this is a tidying up exercise responding to the Supreme Court decision in November 2006. I also believe it is a missed opportunity and that there is so much in terms of electoral law that needs to be addressed which is not being addressed. The question of funding and how we deal with that in elections is not addressed in this legislation. There is provision in the Bill for a deposit of €500 and I fully understand the reasons behind that. We do not want people standing willy-nilly in elections. One could have a ballot paper the length of one's arm and it is a waste. It is important there is some hurdle. Obviously, people should get their money back etc.

I now come to the more profound issue. Once a person has put his or her hat in the ring, how does he or she contest because there is not an even playing field after that? If one looks around this city, there are 48 sheet billboards advertising certain candidates. I come from a party which does not accept corporate donations. How are we expected to contest an election with people who are funded up to the gills, sometimes by people such as developers etc., who have vested interests and seek to have them represented in Dáil Éireann? That is not conducive to real democracy.

In fairness, it is an issue the Labour Party tried to address when it was in Government. It brought in fairly far-seeing legislation and the idea was to cap electoral spending. I heard Deputy Fleming on a radio programme last night say the spending limit would be increased and that it would be consumer price index-linked. Again, that misses the point.

The three weeks before the election is no longer what it used to be. I heard Seán Barrett on a radio programme say that years ago — I am long enough in politics to remember this — candidates were chosen at convention approximately five weeks from the election. The candidates then put out their leaflets and that was the end of the matter. It does not function like that anymore.

We are now into almost five year election cycles where the gun is sounded once we get into the House. This is as a result of people trying to spend money before the three week period commences. It is spend, spend, spend. Looking at the glossy leaflets, bus shelters and billboards, I ask how much is being spent. I calculate some candidates must have spent approximately €100,000 in the past few months. How are we supposed to compete against that? Where are they getting the money?

There are far too many loopholes which the Minister should address. If we are talking about elections, surely we are talking about enfranchising people and about real democracy. A joke was made at our convention that we have the best democracy money can buy. It would be a very sad day if we were to go down the American route which, increasingly, it seems we are.

The evidence from Trinity College, where scholars have done analysis, shows a number of things. Interpersonal contact is still the most important factor in that people need to know the candidate. That gives some of us an opportunity and a chance. However, another major factor is the amount of money spent. The more money spent, the more votes one gets. Of course, it is diminishing returns but if one spends €100,000, one will get a good return and the chances are one will be elected. That has nothing to do with the calibre of the candidate. It is great if one has a good candidate and one can add to that by spending a lot of money enabling him or her to get elected. This is not addressed in legislation. All these factors are ignored for one very good reason, namely, there are certain parties in the House which benefit.

The Minister's party, in particular, is flush with money. It gets huge amounts of money and the Galway tent has been mentioned so many times, it has become an almost mythical place at this stage. That money goes into these election funds. As far as I can see, Fianna Fáil has not yet started to spend money but when it does, there will be no end to it. It will put everyone in the shade.

There are many ways to get around the spending limits. We talk about donations, lack of corporate donations and how some donations are capped. One thing which is not capped is advertising. Each year Fianna Fáil produces an annual in which developers take out advertisements. As far as I know, that does not have to be declared. People can take out advertising and pay Fianna Fáil enormous sums. That is one of numerous ways to get around the ethics legislation. Those loopholes are being exploited. The result is fewer people will enter politics because they cannot compete.

The good news is that sometimes one can be elected on a small budget. I heard approximately 20 minutes ago that my colleague in Northern Ireland, Brian Wilson, could be in with a shout of getting an Assembly seat, and that is on a shoestring budget.

I agree with the idea of a deposit, although others do not. However, the issue which the Minister needed to address in this legislation was spending between elections.

The electoral register is in a bit of a mess. I have seen that even in my constituency. Previously, there were over 65,000 people on the register in Dublin South-East but 5,000 have disappeared from it. Not only that but many people who took it for granted that they would be on the register have disappeared from it. The Minister must find a way to address this problem so that it is easy for people who genuinely want to participate in an election to get on the register. Perhaps he will say when summing up whether we can at least make it easy for people to get on the register using the supplementary registration form. Will the Minister embark on an advertising campaign to let people know how this can be done? Many people are panicking at this stage because they are not on the register. They are asking how they can get on it. Can they get on the register using the supplementary registration form? Can the Minister let people know through an advertising campaign — I am not asking him to lash out lots of money on that — and give them some hope that on 18 May, or whenever the election is held, they will be able to cast their vote?

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