Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

She is gone. One cannot beat knocking on doors, which is a maxim in which I have always believed. The former Senator, Mr. Denis Cregan, has a great philosophy whereby he states that one should not peak too soon. The three weeks of an election campaign are the most effective. However, the Minister has missed the point in the Bill, because he has not extended the period beyond 60 days, and that period is too short.

I have concerns about the reference in the Bill to the 10% to be attributed to parties. How will this be quantified and by whom will it be monitored? Let us suppose Senator Walsh, the Minister of State, Deputy Michael P. Kitt, or I has a constituency office used by a given candidate which we support to run an election campaign. Let us further suppose that candidate uses the premises to photocopy, send e-mails, use the telephone or hold meetings after canvassing. How will the Minister quantify such use?

I have concerns regarding the funding of democracy. I am a great believer in funding political parties, for which I make no apology. I say as much in a time when people say that we should restrict expenditure on election campaigns, a view with which I agree. It serves no one to have lavish posters and a great deal of glossy literature going through doors in a time of economic recession. However, we should fund democracy and I make no apology for this view. I am involved in a European Parliament election campaign and a fund raising dinner will take place as part of this campaign. I have no difficulty with people being asked to subscribe to a candidate or political party regardless of what party is involved, because there must be a democracy which is properly resourced by all political parties, whether Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party or whichever.

I respect the right of everyone to have a viewpoint. However, there are some sections in the media which do not share this view. Such people believe that anyone who spends money on elections or who makes a political contribution is a bad person, which is not the case. Earlier, Senator Hannigan referred to the need to address the issue of the register of electors. In many cases the register is a shambles. Money is wasted in this area of managing elections because certain sections of the register bear no resemblance to reality.

It is time we got rid of the e-voting machines. We must draw a line in the sand, throw them into the sea off Roches Point and let them be gone. We have not examined the role of technology and it is not referred to in the Bill. There are some great websites such as www.politics.ie in which people engage by bloging. I have begun bloging and a person in my party, namely, Mr. Stephen Spillane, is teaching me. It is a great way of communicating with people. Twitter, Facebook and Bebo are not mentioned in the Bill. They are a means of advertising, but will the cost of using them be measured?

I welcome the Bill. It is important we engage with people and that there is restriction and control. One issue I wish to see addressed, which is not referred to in the Bill, is the matter of cable ties left up on polls after an election. I do not know how the Minister will fine people, but people should be fined for leaving cables ties on poles. There is a great regime for getting rid of posters, but it does not apply to cable ties. The Minister has not gone far enough. We must have a properly funded democracy, but we must also control spending. The Bill is a step in the right direction and the bottom line is that money cannot win elections, but it can fund elections and give people an additional advantage over others.