Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I move amendment No. 5:

In page 6, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following:

"5.—Section 17(1)(b) (as inserted by section 50(c) of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001) of the Act of 1997 is amended by substituting "by all candidates" for "by candidates of all qualified parties".".

There are four streams of funding for politicians and political life in this country. First, all Members of the Dáil and the Seanad receive an equal staffing allocation. The second is the party leader's allowance which is paid in respect of every Member, except the Ceann Comhairle, although paid in a different manner to different Deputies. The third is the Oireachtas staffing allowance paid to all Members other than Independents. The fourth is the party funding under the Electoral Acts, for which any party receiving more than 2% of first preference votes in the preceding general election is eligible. In the last election the citizens of Ireland chose to elect a sizeable number of Independent Deputies. In fact, 17% of the membership of the House comprises Deputies not eligible for this funding. The only groupings which qualify are the four large parties in the Dáil, namely, Fine Gael, the Labour Party, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin.

What is happening is that 100% of the funding in this allocation goes to Members who represent only 83% of the popular mandate. There is an opportunity to show respect for the wishes of the electorate by moving to address this anomaly. If the 17% of funding which corresponds to the Independent representation in the House was returned to the Exchequer, it would amount to some €800,000 per annum, or more than €4 million in the lifetime of the Dáil. It is unacceptable that the parties should benefit disproportionately from this funding in a manner which ignores the substantial mandate of Independent Deputies.

Another example of the failure to reflect the wishes of the electorate is the way in which the secretariat is provided for the party political system. Even though the Technical Group is a recognised grouping in the House, the Standing Orders of the Dáil make no provision for a secretariat to facilitate Members in their parliamentary functions. Apart from not being provided with staff, we are not even given a computer or a telephone. It is a very unfair system and an insult not only to Independent Members but also to the mandate they have received from the electorate.

To clarify, I am not arguing for the withdrawal of funding for political parties. On the contrary, I fully accept the valuable role they play in political life. As I said on Committee Stage, I have been a member of no less than three political parties. I did not intend for that to happen, but that is the way it worked out.

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