John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

——and we have delivered it. What I promised last weekend will be also delivered. It will be radical legislation. What we are discussing today is legislation that stems from legislation produced by the Deputy's party when it was in Government. We are now going further than that and we will go further again. That will be separate legislation because we are examining not only the amounts that can be given to parties but also what can be spent between elections and the source of those donations. Should we be taking money from the big corporations? The answer is "No". I said that at the weekend. I want to deal with the issue in a very clear way. Therefore, I want the legislation we are discussing today to be a stand-alone Bill.

There are some technical difficulties I should point out to the Deputy regarding the text of his amendment. As I see it, it is proposed to insert the new provision relating to donations in the part of the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 that deals with expenses and payments at elections and not in the part that deals with donations. There are some difficulties in that regard but more fundamentally the proposal is made without reference to the existing provisions of both the 1999 Act and the Electoral Act 1997, which deal with limits on donations to and disclosures by political parties. Deputy Lynch need not have any fear in regard to this matter. It will be delivered upon in separate legislation which will be radical.

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