Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

Amendments Nos. 2 and 3 will make the organisation and structure of political parties more transparent. These amendments will require that information on what are called the accounting units of political parties be included on the register of political parties. These are the local branches of parties. This information will then be made publicly available. These will address the recommendation of the Mahon tribunal that,"Political parties should be required to supply details of their organisational structure, including their subsidiary organisations and branches as a condition of registration under the Electoral Act 1992.". The tribunal explained the reasoning behind this recommendation in saying that, "more transparency is needed over the organisational structure of political parties".

Amendment No. 2 will have the effect of requiring that as a condition of inclusion on the register of political parties under section 25 of the Electoral Act 1992, a party will have to submit the name and address of each accounting unit of the political party and the name and address of the responsible person or persons of the accounting unit.

Amendment No. 3 will enable this information to be updated annually and made publicly available. The registrar of political parties, who is also the Clerk of the Dáil, is required under section 25A(4) of the Electoral Act 1992 to inquire of each registered political party at least once a year if the party wishes to remain registered. In responding to this inquiry from the registrar, each political party will now be required to submit a list of its accounting units and the responsible person of each accounting unit. This information will then be entered in the register of political parties and provision is made for this information to be updated annually.