With the possibility of parties with excessive amounts of money at their disposal bypassing legislation and spending vast sums of money before an election has even been declared, it is imperative that controls are tightened. It is also important to emphasise that there is no case for increasing the already more than generous amounts which candidates are permitted to spend. With Fianna Fáil purportedly spending at least as much in the three months before the Dáil was dissolved in April 2002 as it declared for the campaign itself, it appears that the party has no need for increased limits but that it rather needs to put its house and that of others in order. Otherwise, in the Taoiseach's words and as Senator McCarthy stated, the Dáil will be full of millionaires who, in my opinion, will have bought their way in on the back of ever-increasing financial donations.