Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are huge restrictions on how politicians advertise themselves, how much money we spend on election campaigns and on any political donations we might receive. That is a good feature of Irish politicians. People who work hard enough can get elected to this House on very modest sums of money by international standards. We have seen in other countries how people with money can seek to influence social events, social policy and politics. This legislation is an effort to constrain that type of influence seeking.

I have not had a chance to go through every line of the Bill to pick out all the flaws. That is the purpose of Committee Stage. The purpose of Second Stage, on the other hand, is to decide whether or not the House accepts the principle of a Bill. I am surprised the Government cannot accept the principle that we must do something to ensure that no outside parties can, in a furtive and secretive manner and because they have huge resources, seek to exert a disproportionate influence on the electorate. I ask the Government, between now and when the division takes place, to reconsider its position and allow the Bill to progress. It will be subjected to pre-legislative scrutiny before proceeding to Committee Stage, where any possible unintended consequences may be ironed out.

It is a disturbing development to see Amnesty International Ireland, an organisation which prides itself on its advocacy of civil rights, metaphorically putting its two fingers up to the Standards in Public Office Commission. I do not care which side of the argument the money was intended to promote; that is not the issue. I would be saying the same thing if a large amount of United States dollars had gone to the other side of the campaign in question. It is outrageous that a body which claims to be a human rights organisation should thumb its nose at the laws passed in this House for very good reason. That action must be condemned in the strongest terms. Nobody is above the law and it is a job for the Standards in Public Office Commission to pursue the matter.

A very bad example has been set in not adhering to the law. If those involved feel the law is unjust, they could work to change it.

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