The Minister seemed to be suggesting that the huge donation Fianna Fáil received and the huge amount that it spent on the most recent election would somehow be coming from the taxpayer. Nothing could be further from the truth. Fianna Fáil splurged massive amounts of money in the run-up to the election from the donations that it had received. It would be far better and healthier to have a legislative framework where only the taxpayer paid for the election and the run-up to it, controlling everything in that context. There should be a ban on political donations. Unless such a ban is introduced, there will always be questions in the public mind about who is the piper, who is paying him and who is really calling the tune.