Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

The Leas-Cheann Comhairle was the Minister who introduced section 72 of the Electoral Act 1997 which would allow the Minister to make regulations limiting election expenditure in local elections. I would like a straightforward commitment from the Minister that he will introduce limits on spending in next year's local elections. The Green Party and the Labour Party have a lot in common. Neither party receives pots of money from business. No matter what one may state about this, both parties know we are similar in this regard and the Minister could address the uneven playing pitch.

The Minister, who is a member of the Green Party, is introducing bits and pieces which I welcome and we have a lot in common. This type of measure would make a real difference. A date can be fixed for local elections in a way which it cannot for general elections. It is absurd that we have spending limits in general elections and not in local elections. Somebody could spend €100,000 on a local election campaign and while this is rare, it happens. A fraction of this is spent on general election campaigns.

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