Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Naughten has very elegantly covered virtually every aspect of this. It is not legislation that excites the public and this amendment certainly does not do so. It will not remove from the television screens the ongoing shambles at the Department of Justice and Equality. However, it is a very important Bill. The Minister is one of the few members left in the Labour Party who comes from its old tradition of equality and so on. This Bill is basically unfair and in my view, unconstitutional.

Having lost the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party Whip, I do not necessarily expect to be invited to Farmleigh House to get my photograph taken on Twitter with Brian O'Driscoll or Gordon D'Arcy. I do not expect to be in Iveagh House on a Tuesday night sampling the last remaining wine in the cellar, and I do not expect to be getting a call to go to Auckland or Australia for a trip during a nice quiet period in the summer. However, I do expect to be treated on an equal basis inside this House. At the moment, I and several other colleagues are treated like second class Oireachtas Members, for various reasons not alone on this issue, but also due to the fact that we are not permitted to be on committees.

I believe this funding aspect is unconstitutional. It is not about the money per se. I do not care about the money even if it is being used to undermine some of us in our own constituencies. The real issue at stake is that we are being treated unfairly. I believe that it would not stand up to a constitutional challenge. I think the time may be coming when some of us will decide that we are not going to accept this treatment any longer, and take this issue to the court. It would be a very poor reflection on the Government if that were to happen. We are not looking for funding for ourselves, we are looking for it to be returned to the Exchequer.

This legislation is flawed. If Fianna Fáil is stuck in the polls and its Oireachtas Members cannot get rid of their leader, or if Sinn Féin Members decide they want to break from the past and get rid of their leader, but if they cannot do so and they break away, it is not inconceivable that one or two individuals are left with all the funding. That can happen. I think I am correct in saying that if one member remains in the party and the rest break away, that member can be left with the roughly €1 million worth of funding. Can the Minister explain if the Bill can prevent that? My understanding is that it cannot once one member remains in the party. Deputy Naughten pointed out earlier that members of the Workers' Party split and formed Democratic Left, and Deputy MacGiolla was left as the sole trader in the older party. If legislation allows that to happen, even though it is unlikely and hypothetical, it is a major flaw. I do not see the difficulty with what we are seeking here.

I would not be a supporter of the theories and policies put forward by Deputy Higgins but at least he has the courage of his convictions and I think the Government should follow suit and return this money to the Exchequer. I do not believe it will undermine the legislation or create any difficulty but I do not believe that the Minister can stand over this. It is unfair and it casts us as second-class Members of the Oireachtas. I believe it would not stand up to a constitutional challenge, which may well come.

The Minister can accept this amendment. He can vary it. He knows the thrust of it as he has listened long enough. I appeal to his better nature to accept it.

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