Seán Conlan (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

The Electoral (Amendment)(Political Funding) Bill 2011 has been broughtr to the floor of the House at an important time in politics. Having reached a watershed, we must decide whether we are going to continue along the road of corporate donations, backslapping and political favours with all the ill effects these have on the health of the political system and the integrity of the body politic. Alternatively, are we to take the new road offered by the Bill which will help to deliver us from the evils of the aforementioned culture and restore the confidence of citizens in the democratic political system by creating a transparent model where decisions are made on the basis of what is right for the people instead of being influenced by wealthy individuals or corporations against the public good? The Bill offers us the possibility of a renaissance of the political system. In passing it, we will empower the citizen by reducing the influence of wealthy individuals and corporations on the political system and reaching towards a position where donations will be smaller but, I hope, more plentiful as ordinary people take ownership of their democratic system.

While a blanket ban on donations has been suggested, this raises constitutional issues and is not in the interests of the political system. I want to see the policy on donations moving more towards one of the recommendations made in the Moriarty tribunal report. Tax relief on donations up to a limited threshold would encourage a much larger number of smaller donations, as well as having the effect of limiting the power of an individual donor seeking influence in return for his or her donation. At the same time, it would give individuals, small clubs and those who to date feel alienated from the system ownership of their political system. In dramatically reducing the threshold of party donations from €6,348.69 to €2,500 a year and individual donations from any one donor from €2,539.48 to €1,000 the Bill is moving in the right direction towards reducing the influence exercised by donors over politicians. Party donations in excess of €1,500, representing a reduction of some €3,500, and individual donations in excess of €600 must be disclosed to the Standards in Public Offices Commission. This builds in a policing mechanism which, when coupled with new disclosure requirements placed on corporate donors to register with the commission and furnish it with relevant details of their donations, provides a system under which qualifying donations must be recorded independently by both parties, the donor and the recipient, with the commission providing a transparent policing system. The fact that irregularities are to be notified to the Garda or the Director of Public Prosecutions for further action is proof, if proof were needed, that politicians want to free themselves from the suspicions and innuendo visited on them by the previous culture and are openly embracing the new transparency the Bill affords.

The Bill will succeed where others have failed in keeping big money out of politics and restore politics and ownership of the political system to those who engage in the democratic system by casting their vote to elect the politician of their choice. It is the result of the two Government parties working together to deliver on their election commitments to restore confidence in the political system by removing the influence of big money, whether private or corporate, from the political landscape.

On the gender balance aspect of the Bill, I support the measures being put in place to encourage females to get involved in the political arena, especially at legislative level. I recognise, however, that positive steps have to be taken on indirect public policies in this area such as the introduction of measures supporting women in education, the inclusion of politics in education and, more important, provisions to reconcile family and public life by making subsidised child care facilities widely available and legislating for good maternity and paid paternity leave. While being mindful of Dr. Eoin Daly's neutral perspective on the constitutionality of the effect the Bill may have on the internal organisational autonomy of political parties, we need to do something to encourage more females to get involved in politics. Provided that we act within constitutional parameters, I am in favour of this aspect of the Bill.

All in all, the Bill is a positive step forward in developing our democratic model and restoring confidence in the body politic.

See this speech in context