Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 5, before section 1, to insert the following new section:

1.-—The functions of the Minister under this Act shall not be exercisable in relation to an election by a holder of the office of Minister who is also a director of elections in respect of that election.".

The amendment is important in terms of conflict of interest. When the Minister responsible for introducing an expensive project that goes to the heart of our electoral system has such power, it is not good that he or she should be director of elections for his or her political party. We are all democrats and we all believe in participation in the democratic system. Events in recent years have brought politics into disrepute. Approximately 1,500 Deputies have been elected since the foundation of the State and all but a handful were good, honest, hard working and reputable parliamentarians. A few rotten apples corrupted politics for their own gain and brought it into disrepute. Ethics legislation has been introduced in recent years and the Standards in Public Office Commission was established as a result of a number of these scandals. The Houses of the Oireachtas have driven this change.

The Houses must lead the way in terms of adopting the highest standards in terms of how we do our business as practitioners of politics. It is important that potential conflicts of interest should be addressed. The primary objective of the amendment is to prevent a blatant conflict of interest involving the Minister as he confers upon himself significant power in this area while, at the same time, acting as director of elections for his party.

This issue has major legal and, more importantly, ethical ramifications. It has reverberations in terms of accountability and transparency in the political system. I appeal to the Minister of State to accept the amendment.