Dáil debates

Thursday, 23 January 2014

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Second Stage

 

3:20 pm

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It mentions Members of the Oireachtas.

This Bill only reduces the leader's allowance, and that is the only source of political funding that Independent TDs have. As I laid out, parties have three sources of funding, two of which have been completely ignored by the Bill. Whilst I agree that the leader's allowance should be reduced and have previously tabled amendments to have it reduced, the other sources of funding should be reduced as well. There are two reasons for this. First, it will save the Exchequer money at a time when there is very little public money available. Second, by reducing only the funding available to non-party TDs, the Minister has increased the disparity between what party leaders get for each of their TDs and what Independent TDs get.

In his response, the Minister might address the following questions. Why is total political funding not being reduced by 10%?

Why is Exchequer funding not being reduced? Why are Oireachtas resources to parties not being reduced? Why is it only the leader's allowance that is reduced and why is it only being reduced by 10%? Could we not go further and reduce it by 15% or 20%? Why will ex-party TDs not be given funding? I believe it is because this Bill is a sop. It is like a lot of other so-called political reform, it is pretend reform because it is political expedience, it is cynical and it is box-ticking. In spite of all of that I am going to vote for the Bill because it goes a tiny fraction of the way that we need to go in upgrading political funding, but if this is the only real change we are going to see in political funding from now on, it is very disappointing.

This Bill serves to protect and strengthen the existing political cartel. In its lack of ambition it has failed to create a fair, transparent, cost-effective and fundamentally more democratic funding of politics in Ireland. Perhaps the Minister will take on board some of those points, although I doubt it, and bring them forward as amendments on Committee Stage.

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