John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I intend to bring forward proposals in the near future for legislative change to allow for the introduction of spending limits at local elections. It is my intention to have the limits in place for the local elections to be held this year. The programme for Government contains a commitment to examine spending limits at local elections as part of the Green Paper on local government. The Green Paper, published in April 2008, outlined two possible approaches, a fixed expenditure ceiling of a set amount per candidate or limits linked to a proportion of Dáil expenditure.

The purpose of introducing spending limits is to create as level a playing field as possible to ensure that candidates of modest means are not put at a disadvantage in contesting an election. It will also bring local elections in line with other electoral codes where spending limits already apply.

In October 2008, I consulted the Joint Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government on the issue of spending limits. A policy research document prepared on behalf of the committee and presented at that meeting offered useful practical guidance. There are a number of complexities that need to be considered and I discussed these with members of the committee.

The consultative committee on local government reform, which was involved in the drafting process for the Green Paper on Local Government also considered the issue of expenditure limits. This committee included representatives from all the main local government associations and representative bodies including the Association of County and City Councils, the Association of Municipal Authorities in Ireland, the County and City Managers Association and the Local Authority Members Association.

Under the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999, all local election candidates are currently required to submit a declaration of campaign expenditure, and the source of the funds to meet that expenditure. I believe that these provisions should be built upon, and that candidates should be required to comply with spending limits.

However, in setting the limits, a balance has to be struck. The limits have to be both realistic and reasonable. If they were set at too low a level, they might unduly hinder campaigning, particularly by new candidates. Were the limits too high, they would defeat the objective of discouraging excessive spending.

Given their different administrative responsibilities, there may be a case for setting different limits for county and city councils on the one hand, and borough and town councils on the other hand. This is something that is being considered.

Preparatory work is now at an advanced stage, and I expect to publish a Bill shortly to introduce spending limits for candidates at local elections.

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