Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Mr. Michael Barron, the former executive of Equate, who spoke out in last weekend's edition of The Sunday Business Postagainst the cruel and targeted complaints made through the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, against Equate which resulted in it being shut down. While SIPO found no wrongdoing on Equate's part, these complaints hindered its ability to fundraise and it was forced to cease operations in November 2017. Equate was a civil society organisation, which sought the secularisation of the education system, and it was instrumental in the recent legislation to remove the baptism barrier from school admissions. The complaints made against Equate targeted obligations under the Electoral Acts, 1997 to 2002, which ambiguously prohibit anyone engaging in political work from accepting anonymous donations above €100, donations of more than €2,500 from any source or donations from abroad. The regulation was initially intended for political parties and candidates but was extended to all organisations in 2001. Since the extension the phrase, "political activity", has been broadly interpreted to include, and sometimes censor, civic advocacy, which I do not believe was ever intended to be a consequence of the regulation. There have been other instances where the Electoral Acts have forbidden people from speaking out for social change and it ultimately places a muzzle on activists and hurts democracy. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights has raised concerns over the narrow interpretation of our electoral laws, as have the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Amnesty International, The Wheel, Transparency International, Uplift and Front Line Defenders. I, therefore, call for a debate in this House where the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government with special responsibility for local government and electoral reform, Deputy Phelan, could address the Seanad and answer these concerns.