Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like others have done, I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is always good to have two Malcolms in a Chamber at the one time.I, like others, thank Senators Ruane and Higgins for bringing this discussion to the floor. The discussion this evening and the contributions from everybody are core to our democracy. These discussions are important and, as others, including Senator Fitzpatrick, have said, I would be worried if this gets bogged down in the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. That committee will be dealing with a lot of important issues. This is a vital question about the future of our democracy. I ask that the Minister of State ensures that whatever mechanism is used, it is given sufficient priority.

This raises important questions about the role of civic society within our democracy. The difficulty is the legislation, as Senator Higgins pointed out, is analogue legislation operating in a digital age. Activism is completely different from what it was when most of us in this Chamber started getting involved in our various forms of activism. A healthy democracy requires input from a wide variety of groups and opinions from civic society. Senator Kyne mentioned the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, which is probably one of the most successful lobby groups in the country. Input is also required from business organisations, trade unions, churches and all sorts of groups as well as collections of individuals, as Senator Garvey said, who come together and are passionate about an issue. It is important we support those organisations, that mechanisms are found in a digital age for those organisations to advance their cause, that there is not a funding imbalance with one group being more powerful than the other and that we have, as Senator Kyne said, transparency in the process.

The announcement this week by the Government that we will finally have the long overdue electoral commission is hugely significant. I hope it addresses the issues contained in this Bill and that all civic society organisations are provided with a meaningful opportunity to take part in the debate around that commission. There are several functions of the new commission I would like to see addressed. One such function concerns an overhaul of the electoral register, which I think almost everybody would agree with. There is also the question of political education, not just in schools but for the wider public, about how our democracy operates and how to influence the legislative process. There is within the programme for Government reference to investment in a fund which will support research into politics and electoral research. The programme for Government commits to examining by-elections and whether they should be replaced with alternate lists. That would be worthwhile.

In particular, it will be important that it examines the question of online political advertising and microtargeting. I agree with Senator Ruane that we cannot leave it to the tech giants to self-regulate in this area. There must be a role for the State in the regulation of online advertising. This will be one of the biggest challenges the new commission will face.

Elections and political funding are always a source of controversy. There is a noble intent behind this legislation but I do not want to see the provisions contained in this excellent Bill used in such a way, and Senator Mullen referred to this in some ways, that funding raised outside the State would be used to unfairly influence our political system. This is not to stop valid civil society organisations operating here. There are a number of flaws with our electoral legislation at the moment but we have spending limits and much more transparency than other countries. It is not perfect but it is better than other countries. The Twenty-six Counties' regulations are far more stringent than the UK donation regulations which are preferred by the wealthiest political party on this island.

I would fear a move to a situation similar to that in the US. There would be difficulty distinguishing between civil society organisations and political action committees, such as are found in the US. It is not the intention but it is something we will have to address. During the Brexit referendum we saw this was the case where a group called the Constitutional Research Council donated £435,000 to the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, to support the leave campaign, which included the DUP engaging in online advertising in Britain, not just in the North. Equally, we have to address questions around money being raised at a $500 per plate dinner in the Trump Hotel in Manhattan or a political party getting a £4 million donation from a reclusive electrician. We have to ensure mechanisms whereby money from outside the State cannot be used to fund online political campaigns.

One of the challenges we have with the lack of proper regulation, especially of online advertising, is that Facebook, Twitter and others say they self-regulate but everybody knows they do not. Senator Ruane is correct that we have to address that in terms of a role for State. The scale of what is happening with the political action committees and the Super PACs in the US is frightening. I happened to look at it today. The super PACs in the US are different from the political action committees in that they cannot give money to specific candidates but can generally fund a campaign. To date this year in the US, they have raised $2.3 billion and spent more than $1.5 billion. I do not want us to get into a situation where that happens. I am aware that is not the intent of the Bill but when we come to address this we have to ensure, while supporting civic society organisations to engage in political debate, that we do not allow undue influence or malign forces in our democratic process. Given our role, with particular regard to data and data management, there may also be an interest from other powers and other states in influencing our democratic process.

My colleague, Deputy Lawless, is, as has been said by Senator Higgins, bringing forward legislation in the Dáil. This is a hugely important legislation and I ask for the Minister of State's assurance that it will be given priority when it goes to Committee Stage.