Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

In my contribution earlier, I analysed the legislation before us but nothing I have heard in the meantime has caused me to change my view that we should not oppose the Bill as there are a number of issues that are required to be dealt with before we proceed with this proposal. I thank the speakers for their constructive suggestions in regard to the funding of the political process.

Reform of political funding was promised for years but nothing was done about it. I mentioned the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2011, which is now on the Statute Book. In June of this year, I published the general scheme of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill and in the next couple of weeks the Bill will be published.

The Bill aims to increase transparency in political donations to ensure there is no question of unhealthy relationships between politics and business. As every other Member of the House indicated, I want to see the funding and operation of politics carried out in a very open and transparent manner. This legislation will address issues of serious public concern in the operation of political funding.

Corporate donations of more than €200 will be prohibited unless the donors meet the most strict and exacting conditions. They will have to provide details of their membership and shareholders and copies of their accounts and annual reports to the Standards in Public Office Commission. Details of donors will be included on a public register. Each donation will have to be approved by a general meeting of the members of the corporation or body. These provisions will apply to all corporate and unincorporated bodies. The provisions will apply to companies, partnerships, trade unions, trusts, co-operatives, societies, building societies, charitable organisations, non-governmental organisations, clubs, associations and any other unincorporated bodies of persons - in other words, all bodies and organisations other than natural persons.

There will be a reduction in the limits on political donations that may be accepted. These limits will fall from €6,348 to €2,500 for donations received by a political party. For a candidate or elected representative, the limit will fall from €2,539 to €1,000. There will be a reduction in the thresholds at which donations must be declared to the Standards in Public Office Commission. For a political party, the limit will fall from €5,078 to €1,500. For a candidate or elected representative, the limit will fall from €634 to €600. Companies, trade unions, societies and building societies will have to report all donations of more than €200 in their annual accounts. Previously, such bodies had to report donations of more than €5,078, so the scale of the reduction is of a very large order. The threshold for all other donors, other than companies, trade unions, societies and building societies, in reporting their donations to the Standards in Public Office Commission, will also fall from €5,078 for aggregate donations given in the same year to an aggregate figure of €1,500.

The Bill will address the need for improved transparency in political funding arrangements by providing for the submission by political parties of financial accounts to the Standards in Public Office Commission. The information will be published to facilitate greater transparency for citizens in knowing where political parties get their income and where they spend their money. Political parties which do not comply with these new requirements face having their State funding withdrawn.

Under current law, the use for electoral purposes of public funding provided to political parties is prohibited. There is, therefore, a continuing need for political parties and candidates to raise money to fund election campaigns. The purpose of the legislation that the Government is bringing forward is to further regulate political funding from private sources and to further enhance the openness and transparency of political funding.

As an incentive to encourage the selection of a greater number of women candidates, the new legislation includes a provision that political parties will face a cut of half their State political funding if they do not have at least 30% women and 30% men candidates at the next general election.

These are far reaching and comprehensive proposals. The Government's Bill will implement specific commitments contained in the programme for Government in regard to political donations. It will also have regard to recommendations made in the Moriarty tribunal report published in March of this year. The Moriarty tribunal has been mentioned on a number of occasions during the course of this debate. The tribunal's recommendations represent a substantial contribution to consideration of policy in this area. They are made in a report that lays bare the failings in the system that existed at the time. While rules and regulations have been changed since the 1990s, some of the failings identified still prevail.

On the matter of corporate donations, the tribunal did not actually recommend that they be banned. It noted that the desirability and feasibility of a complete ban on private political funding is pre-eminently a matter for the Oireachtas and for public debate and consideration, having regard to constitutional issues that might arise and to the national financial exigencies.

The restrictions to be placed on corporate donors in the forthcoming Bill will go beyond what the tribunal was in a position to recommend. The provision in the Bill for the publication of political party accounts will address the Moriarty tribunal recommendation that all income of political parties be disclosed. In fact, it will also go beyond this recommendation by providing that the expenditure of parties is also reported and open to public scrutiny.

The tribunal recommended that all political donations, apart from those under a modest threshold, be disclosed. The reductions in the donations thresholds we are introducing are substantial and significant and will go a long way towards addressing this recommendation.

It is clear from the extensive and detailed range of recommendations made by many Deputies in this House over the years and, indeed, by independent bodies, including the Standards in Public Office Commission, the Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption and Transparency International that there is no shortage of analysis on the shortcomings in Ireland's arrangements for the funding of politics.

The Bill I will bring forward can be seen as one part of a wider programme to reform our system of politics and the funding of politics. Also on the Government's legislation programme is the electoral commission Bill, which will be enacted during the lifetime of this Dáil. The programme for Government provides for this commitment.

See this speech in context