Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour)

They are kicking up a fuss about the release of information that every dog in the street knows, about a possible increase in VAT. There are more important issues, to do with the number of young people leaving the country and the lack of employment, which we might spend more time talking about rather than being offended by German parliamentarians seeing a document.

With regard to the Bill we are discussing, I want to declare my position on corporate donations. All parties in principle support the banning of corporate donations to political parties. I am delighted to say, as one of the new people on the block, that I have never applied to any corporate entity for a donation, nor have I have never taken one. I am sure I am not the only one in the House to be in that position. Other people can express their own opinions about it, including people in my own party, the Labour Party. I am not opposed to corporate donations per se, but what I am opposed to is undeclared donations, as in other jurisdictions. As a Labour Party Deputy, I am opposed to corporate donations, but if they are to exist, let us make sure we know who is giving money and who is receiving it.

I listened to Deputy Martin at the beginning of this debate and previously, some weeks ago, when the Bill was introduced initially. He expressed some anger at the attitude of people on the Government side, in Sinn Féin and among the Independents who raised the hypocrisy of Fianna Fáil in introducing a Bill to ban corporate donations. I do not know why it should surprise Deputy Martin or others on the Fianna Fáil side - this is all I will say about it apart from expressing my dismay that they would raise the issue - because it is a bit like Al Capone applying for Frank Daly's job as a Revenue Commissioner. For Fianna Fáil, of all parties - the party that destroyed the country and survived on corporate donations from the time of its foundation up to today - to introduce a Bill on political donations is unbelievable. It is extraordinary that the Fianna Fáil Members would have the cheek to come into this Parliament and lecture others about donations.

Another thing mentioned on the Fianna Fáil benches this morning was the relationship between the Labour Party and trade unions. I am not sure to what extent Fianna Fáil Deputies read their social history of Ireland or their labour history of Ireland, with a small L, but now and again they and some journalists throw out the issue. I am a trade unionist. Those Deputies are making a judgment that the relationship between trade unions and the Labour party is equivalent to that between big businesses and Fianna Fáil. It is not. One of the differences is that the trade union movement existed in Ireland long before the Labour Party did; in fact, it was out of the trade union movement that the Labour Party came, 99 years ago in Clonmel. We celebrate our centenary next year. The people at the first meeting where the Labour Party was set up were ordinary people, most of them with the arses out of their trousers. They were not big business people. I ask people to reflect, when they try to make this comparison between people with different histories or somehow throw in the trade union movement when they talk about donations to the Labour Party, on the fact that one came before the other. I make no apologies for the relationship between the trade union movement and the Labour Party, given the role that trade unions have played in this country in improving the quality of life of ordinary workers. I am proud of it.

I reiterate that, as part of this Government, I will be supporting the new legislation if, as the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has outlined, it is transparent. If there are corporate donations, we need to know who applied for them and who gave them. Ultimately, I will be happy with that.

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