Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputies on all sides of the House for their contributions to the debate. The comments they made focus on the Bill itself and on the electoral agenda in general. We can go into more detailed aspects of the Bill on Committee Stage.

I welcome those comments that acknowledged that the scheme of spending limits seeks to bring fairness to the electoral process and facilitate a more level playing field for candidates. The Minister explained the reasons he did not want anything to be too high or too low. I acknowledge the work done by the joint committee on the issue of spending limits, and the contributions of local government stakeholders in developing the scheme. It is vital to work together on electoral matters, as they are central to the effective functioning of democracy in this country.

It has been suggested in the debate that the spending limit period proposed in the Bill is not long enough. Bearing the proximity of the local elections in mind, 60 days is the maximum period that can be realistically set for the 2009 elections. This period will effectively be more than double the current limit for Dáil elections and European Parliament elections. It will also more than double the period for which local election spending had to be declared under the current provisions in the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999. Many Deputies claimed that the limits were too high. We know that some people spent huge amounts of money in the last elections to get themselves elected to local authorities.

Deputy Bannon sought clarification of the arrangements that will operate for party candidates. The spending limits for local elections will apply to individual candidates in the first instance. Candidates nominated by a political party will be deemed to be automatically allocating 10% of their spending limits for use by the party's national agent at a national level. For example, a party candidate with a limit of €7,500 would be deemed to automatically allocate €750 for use by their party. However, there is provision to allow this figure to be varied upwards or downwards by written agreement between a candidate and the national agent of his or her political party. The maximum that the national agent of the party can spend will be the sum of the amounts allocated by the individual candidates.

Under the current arrangements for Dáil elections, candidates can allocate a portion of their limit for use by the national agent of their party. This must be done in writing. However, given the number of candidates involved in the local elections this approach would create significant administrative difficulties. Therefore, a default position will apply whereby 10% of a candidate's limit will be deemed to be allocated for use by the national agent. Deputy Bannon also raised the issue of how a vacancy would be filled in the event of a member losing his or her seat arising from prosecution for non-compliance with the provisions of the Bill. It is my understanding that such a vacancy would be filled in the normal way as in the case of a casual vacancy through provisions set down in section 19 of the Local Government Act 2001.

I welcome the comments from Deputies on the need to establish an electoral commission in Ireland. The programme for Government commits to the establishment of an independent electoral commission which will take responsibility for electoral administration and oversight, implement modern and efficient electoral practices, revise constituency boundaries, take over the functions of the Standards in Public Office Commission relating to election spending and examine the issue of financing the political system.

The commission will also take charge of compiling a new national rolling electoral register. In this regard the Minister appointed consultants to carry out preliminary research on issues arising related to the establishment of the electoral commission. The consultants' work was completed recently and the Minister published the report last month. The report recommends the establishment of an electoral commission. It covers issues such as the registration of political parties, the electoral register, constituency revision, running elections and referenda, funding and research and awareness activities.

Issues related to the electoral register have been raised by several Deputies and have also been extensively examined by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Many Deputies referred to the electoral register in this debate. It is envisaged that this function would be taken on by the electoral commission. The Minister is inviting interested organisations and individuals to provide views on the important issues raised in the report and I welcome the views of Deputies as part of this consultation process.

Some of the debate related to the amendment to the Litter Pollution Act. I refer to points raised regarding the control of election posters. The Minister recently informed the Government, on foot of the public consultation in Autumn 2008 on election postering, that he intends to initiate pilot schemes in a number of local authority areas during the upcoming local and European elections. These pilot schemes will investigate how various options identified through the consultation process would work in practice with a view to informing future policy development in this area. I am aware from discussing the issue with members of Ballinasloe Town Council that they held a discussion on that matter and the various options.

Election posters only become litter if they are in place outside the time limits specified in legislation. I believe it is necessary to control postering to ensure the litter problem does not arise in the first instance. The Minister does not propose to amend the current requirement to remove posters within seven days of elections, referenda or public meetings as he believes this is sufficient time to allow for the removal of posters. I fully recognise the important role that posters can play in informing the electorate and raising awareness of upcoming polls. It was never the Minister's intention to ban election posters. The legislation does not propose to lessen the role played by posters in the electoral process. As the Minister informed the House earlier, the amendment to the Litter Pollution Act will clarify the position regarding the time limit for the erection of posters for public meetings, elections and referenda and remove any confusion which may exist in this regard, leading to greater control of postering and a reduction in the risk of litter.

The Minister made the important point that we had no limits for local elections on the most recent occasion. Now we have a scheme which will cover this issue. The Minister clearly stated that the legislation allows for the spending limit to commence up to 60 days before polling day and to the end on polling day. It is important to point out that spending by candidates and political parties during an election campaign will be covered under the new scheme. Such spending must be declared in statements of election expenditure. Up to now, all local election candidates were required to submit a declaration of election expenditure, but there were no limits to what could be spent. Candidates will continue to submit spending returns to local authorities as they have done heretofore, but now will be required to comply with the new spending limits.

There has been a welcome for the proposal facilitating candidates wishing to contest simultaneously for both a county council and an urban based borough or town council. The Minister stated that a candidate will be able to spend up to the limit for the county council electoral area plus one quarter of the limit for the borough or town council. That is a welcome addition as there are many cases in which a candidate contests elections simultaneously.

On examining the 34 county and city councils I noticed that they are in turn broken down into 171 local electoral areas. I refer to the spending limits. Reference was made to the €15,000 limit. This applies in the 43 most populated electoral areas. The limit of €13,000 applies in 38 electoral areas. The limit of €11,500 applies in 66 electoral areas and the lowest limit of €9,750 applies in 24 county and city council areas. There are 80 borough and town councils to which the spending limit of €7,500 will apply.

I commend not only the Joint Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government but also the Department for the consultations with local government representatives. The Department has examined past spending patterns and limits for Dáil elections which are important for comparison. There are particular characteristics of local government in Ireland such as multi-seat constituencies. Usually, these range from three to seven seats. It is rather different from other countries where there may be single seat constituencies. All these matters have been investigated.

Guidelines for candidates and others affected by the spending limits are being prepared by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and will be issued through the local authorities. Again, I thank Deputies from all sides of the House and I hope the Bill is passed through the Dáil in a speedy manner.

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