Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It would in effect be prohibited. Regarding section 47 and influences from outside the State or otherwise, the section is clear in that its provisions are confined to electoral activities within the State for elections within the State by a political party registered within the State. It does not cover, nor should it, electoral activity in another state.

I stand over the important changes that we have made, in particular to section 38, and I am anxious to be of assistance to Deputy Thomas Byrne. In that regard, electoral activity must be clearly understood in a broad sense to be more than just activity within the confines of the three weeks, 28 days or whatever. In support of this point, I will point out that we do not have fixed-term parliaments. As such, all of the activities of elected representatives and candidates are undertaken with an eye on the next election. Suffice it for me to draw on our earlier debate when Deputy O'Callaghan gave way to Deputy Byrne on the matter of the digital age of consent. Regardless of when an election takes place, electoral activity continues. I say this to be of assistance to Deputy Byrne and to assure him that I am keen to go as far as I can on the objective of his amendments within the strictures of the GDPR and without introducing new elements of uncertainty in the matter of political activities. I take the Deputy's point about political activities and I like the phrase "political activities", but if we are to introduce new definitions or phrases without an appropriate level of definition, we will get into uncertainty and difficulty. "Electoral activities" is known in law to be the work that we do on a continual basis. I am sure that Deputies Daly and Wallace also do that work, although they might not like it to be termed as such.

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