Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The section relates to gifts to officeholders and Oireachtas Members for personal reasons only and no limit is in place in this regard currently. A limit, therefore, needs to be imposed, and this is agreed. The issue then centres on the definition of "personal reasons" because it has nothing to do with political donations, the performance of one's duty, funding campaigns or one's politics. A balance must be struck between the intrusion into a Member's personal life and his or her role as a public representative. In private life, these limits would not apply. One must make a judgment on what is the best action to take. In the absence of any limit, given the controversy that has arisen, and if the gift is intended to alleviate an individual's personal circumstances, is for his or her personal use and his or her politics are not germane to the reasoning for the gift, a sum of €2,000 is a fair limit. For gifts that exceed that amount, the involvement of the commission in determining that it has been given for personal reasons is a guarantee to the public that the provision is not being abused or the gift is outside the ambit of what would be regarded as reasonable in the circumstances, given it is for personal use. That is the balance the Senator must think about. I am providing for a limit where none exists and, therefore, I am tightening, not loosening, the legislation. The €650 limit in respect of political donations under the Electoral Acts concerns a separate set of circumstances which are clearly involved in the performance of duties as a politician and the financing of campaigns, etc. That is dealt with. For that reason it is a public issue and there must be a rule for a minimum amount. We have set it at €650, which found the agreement of everyone in the House at the time, because we regarded it as reasonable and it would avoid having to deal with everything that came up.

The question is one of finding the balance. The €650 amount was regarded, for that purpose, as being reasonable. If there is a separate case where no limit exists, but it concerns personal reasons, use or issues, €2,000 is a fairly judged figure. Others may not agree but it strikes that balance. The circumstances are different.

One scenario involves the public having a right to know how campaigns are funded. A person may be funded beyond an aggregate of €650 during the course of the term of the statement which must be provided every year, and the public would know a special account would be set up by every Member for that purpose and the funds must be drawn down from that account to show the money is being spent for political purposes. There is a transparency and openness about the process, which includes a threshold all parties would see as reasonable.

This is a different scenario. This may concern someone being in receipt of support for personal reasons only, as an officeholder or a Member of the Oireachtas. If, as the Senator mentioned, there was some effort to say that support received was subsequently used for political purposes as a way of circumventing rules, it would be deemed by the commission as being a political donation. In such a case the person would be open to sanction because it was not declared. The money would have been used for another purpose, specifically involving public work.

These are the considerations. It is a matter of judgment but I believe this figure is reasonable for the reasons I have outlined.