Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate in the Second Stage debate on the Electoral (Civil Society Freedom) (Amendment) Bill 2019. I thank Senator Ruane for bringing the Bill forward which enables us to debate and consider the relevant issues around the definition of "political purposes" as set out in electoral law. I would also like to commend the Civil Engagement Group on its work on the matter, as well as the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, with which I have engaged in recent weeks.

Like many Members of this House, I come from an advocacy and campaigning background with environmental organisations, Traveller development groups and many really important groups that have helped to shape civil society. Many of us were involved in the fantastic Repeal campaign which was an amazing national campaign. I literally had to climb over barriers to get here this evening and am acutely aware of the barriers that civil society must overcome to be active participants in our democratic processes. In that context, I commend the intent behind this Bill.

If the House is in agreement, I will read my statement and then I will try to respond to some of the really excellent points that were made in what was a fantastic debate. As Members are aware, the Electoral Act 1997, as amended, provides the statutory framework for dealing with political donations and sets out the regulatory regime covering a wide range of interrelated issues such as the funding of political parties, the reimbursement of election expenses, the establishment of election expenditure limits, the disclosure of election expenditure, the setting of limits on permissible donations, the prohibition of certain donations, the disclosure of donations and the registration of third parties who accept donations given for political purposes which exceed €100.The Act also provides for the independent supervision of these provisions by the Standards in Public Office Commission, which has published a number of guidelines to inform candidates standing for election, Members of the Oireachtas, Members of the European Parliament, political parties, corporate donors and third parties of their obligations under the Act.

As the body responsible for the implementation of the Act's provisions, over the years SIPO has raised concerns in its annual reports about the wide-ranging nature of the definition of "political purposes" and its potential impact on the ordinary affairs of civil society. For example, in its annual report for 2018, SIPO recommended that "An electoral commission should be established, and a comprehensive review of the Electoral Acts should take place." A similar recommendation was included in its annual report for 2019.

Before I proceed to the Private Members' Bill itself, it might be useful to recall that, under the Act, a third party is required, on receipt of a donation exceeding the value of €100, and before incurring any expenses for political purposes, or any further such expenses, to furnish to SIPO the name and address of the third party and the name and address of the person responsible for its organisation, management or financial affairs; a statement of the nature, purpose and estimated amount of donations to, and proposed expenses of, the third party during the year; and an indication of any connection the third party may have with any political party or candidate at an election or referendum or otherwise. In addition, and similar to the requirements on candidates standing for election, for Members of the Oireachtas, Members of the European Parliament and political parties, where a monetary donation in excess of €100 is received, an account in a financial institution in the State must be opened and maintained and the donation and any subsequent monetary donations, irrespective of value, must be lodged to that account. A number of statutory statements and supporting documents must also be submitted to SIPO by the deadlines prescribed in the Act - for example, by a date no later than 31 January in each year for elected Members.

In very broad terms, the political donations regime applies more or less equally to candidates standing for election, Members of the Oireachtas, Members of the European Parliament, political parties and third parties who are in receipt of donations given for political purposes where a donation has been received which exceeds the €100 threshold. While third parties must provide the information which I have just set out, unlike the other obligated parties under the Act, they are not required to make donation statements which are made public by SIPO.

While the Bill is relatively short, it deals with an issue that is complex and, more importantly, plays a critical role in preserving the integrity of our elections and our wider democratic processes. In simple terms, the Bill proposes to amend the definition of "political purposes" in section 22(2)(aa) of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001, by removing the reference to third parties in a number of places within the definition and by restricting the obligations on third parties solely to electoral periods. The definition of "political purposes" informs and underpins the application of our entire political donations regime.

I would like to state that I welcome and support the active participation of a vibrant and diverse civil society throughout all aspects of our political decision-making processes and wish to acknowledge the significant contribution they have made, and continue to make, in this regard. The most effective democracies worldwide are founded on robust structures, active citizenship and civil society advocating for and working towards greater transparency and accountability for decision makers and political institutions.

I also note the concerns that civil society has raised in connection with the wide-ranging nature of the definition of "political purposes" provided for in the Electoral Act 1997, in particular, the adverse impact it can have on the ordinary activities of civil society and the means by which they legitimately raise funds to run their normal day-to-day operations, outside of any specific electoral or referendums periods. Nonetheless, while I accept there is merit in reviewing the definition of "political purposes", given the complexities of our political donations regime and its impact across all participants in the electoral and democratic processes, including prospective candidates standing for election, Members of the Oireachtas, Members of the European Parliament, political parties, third parties, individual donors and corporate donors, I am strongly of the view that any review should be comprehensive and objective and should be undertaken in tandem with a wider review of the entire 1997 Act.

Ultimately, the political donations regime as provided for in the 1997 Act needs to apply in a manner that is proportionate, fair and balanced to all participants. Anything less than a thorough review could possibly result in more unintended consequences arising, over and above those that civil society has rightly argued have given rise to the current situation, with potential adverse implications for transparency in our electoral processes. Against this background, the Government is opposed to this Private Members' Bill. However, I wish to assure this House that the issues at the heart of the Bill can be considered further in the context of wider electoral reform proposals, which I intend to bring forward shortly. My Department is currently finalising the general scheme of an electoral reform Bill, which will establish an independent, statutory electoral commission, provide for the modernisation of the electoral registration process, introduce new regulatory provisions to ensure transparency in online paid political advertising, as referenced extensively throughout this debate, and facilitate the holding of electoral events during Covid-19-type restrictions.

The plans to establish an electoral commission are now at an advanced stage within my Department and, in accordance with the commitment in the Programme for Government - Our Shared Future, it is intended that an electoral commission will be in place by the end of next year. My Department is working to meet this commitment and is confident that it can be met. With this in mind, the proposed general scheme of an electoral reform Bill will be brought to Government shortly for its consideration.

As I alluded to earlier, one of the initial functions proposed for the electoral commission, when established, will be to oversee the regulation of online paid-for political advertisements commissioned for use during electoral periods. The general scheme will include provisions to regulate online political advertisements with a view to ensuring that such advertisements are clearly labelled and display certain specified information. These obligations will apply to both the buyers and sellers of political advertising in the online sphere.

Members might wish to note that the provisions on online advertising are being prepared having regard to the detailed proposal from the interdepartmental group on the security of Ireland's electoral process and disinformation, which was agreed by the last Government in early November 2019. This was developed following a public consultation process and the holding of an open policy forum in the latter half of 2018 to elicit the views of a variety of stakeholders, including from the media and political spheres, online companies, the advertising industry and academia, as well as representatives from civil society. The interdepartmental group's proposal recommended that the scope of what constitutes a political advertisement should align with the scope of "political purposes" as defined under the Electoral Act 1997. This would ensure consistency across all legislation, albeit the proposal acknowledged that the definition would be examined as part of a wider review of the Act and the establishment of the electoral commission.

It is intended that the general scheme, following the Government's consideration, will be referred to the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to undergo pre-legislative consideration in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Dáil and Seanad. I give a commitment that this will be given careful and due consideration at that stage. It is anticipated that this process would commence later this year. Pre-legislative consideration of the proposed general scheme will provide an opportunity for, among other matters, a detailed scrutiny of the issues which the Private Members' Bill aims to address. While it will be a matter for the joint committee to determine the course of any such pre-legislative consideration, given the general scheme will refer to the definition in the Electoral Act 1997, I believe this could provide an opportunity for the meaning of "political purposes" to be examined on a cross-party basis and could also facilitate an examination of the obligations on third parties under the Act versus those on political parties and prospective candidates.

As part of the pre-legislative process, it also would be open to the joint committee to invite the views of civil society, SIPO and other stakeholders to inform its consideration of the general scheme on this issue and on other issues, as the case may be.This was discussed at great length with Senator Ruane in our discussions in the lead up to this evening.

Senators may recall that the programme for Government commits the electoral commission, when established, to undertake a number of items of research such as those on the use of posters at elections and referendums, as well as the expansion of postal voting provisions. In addition, it is proposed that a comprehensive review of the Electoral Act will be carried out with a view to making recommendations to address, among other matters, the concerns raised by civil society. It is envisaged that the proposed review could be completed within a relatively short timeframe, following the commission's establishment. In addition, I anticipate that any report that may arise from the pre-legislative process could, in due course, inform the electoral commission in the proposed review of the Act.

The proposed Bill before us today seeks to address an issue that is both complex and integral to maintaining transparency regarding our political donations regime. Accordingly, it is important, deserving of careful consideration and merits an objective analysis of its implications and impacts. In this context, I am of the view that the approach proposed by the Government would, in the final analysis, deliver an objective, clear and more efficient outcome for all affected parties with regard to the entirety of the interrelated provisions in the Electoral Act 1997, including its impact on the ordinary affairs of civil society.

Before I conclude, I will try to address some of the items raised by Senators in what has been a really worthwhile debate. I give my commitment to both the proposer and seconder of the Bill that the Government will give the legislation the scrutiny that it deserves. We will invite in the civil society organisations to give them an opportunity to have their say in that regard. It is really important that we have such engagement because, like the Senators, I share their absolute sentiments in this regard.

Other issues have been raised about the electoral commission and the work it might carry out. Certainly, this has been a long-held aspiration of previous sittings of the Dáil. The work done by the commission will be really important, including the issue that has been raised about election postering. I ran a campaign for the most recent general election without election posters, which is an example of a successful candidate running an election campaign without posters.

The issue concerning the use of personal public service numbers, PPSNs, for the electoral register will be addressed in the wider context of this electoral reform Bill. The point has been well raised by Senators about foreign groups wishing to campaign in Ireland. A lot of important issues have been raised this evening.

Finally, I thank Senator Ruane for bringing the Bill forward and I thank Senators for a really useful debate.