Seanad debates
Wednesday, 18 June 2003
Election Expenses: Motion.
A second area, which I suggest might be reviewed, concerns the requirements relating to political donation accounts. An amendment to the 1997 Act made in 2001 provided that a member of either House of the Oireachtas, an MEP, a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European elecion, a political party, a third party engaged in political activity or an accounting unit who or which receives, in any particular year, a monetary donation of €126.97 shall open and maintain a separate political donation account in a financial institution. We all know the procedures on that which have become rather cumbersome. It makes perfect sense when there are big contributions going in, but we now have to start recording, which creates a lot of paperwork. If someone gives you €20 it has to be recorded. That has become ridiculously complicated. It has got away from the original idea of what we were all trying to do. We should reconsider all this fuss of trying to get bank statements. The bank statement I put in this year was sent back because it was not made out by the bank in accordance with the law, etc. The date was not properly shown, or some fiddle faddle. These things were all well intended and are fine if one is lodging thousands of pounds, but when one is only getting something petty, that whole area needs to be reviewed.
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