Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I listened with interest to Senator McDowell's contribution and it will be worth listening to it again or reading the transcript. We all follow US politics and have been doing so for the past while. We know the cost that a politician incurs in US politics in terms of fundraising requirements and all that. I would assume that US business people are very well versed in being asked to donate to a political party. Sinn Féin has the great advantage of being able to fly a nationalist flag and paint a picture of an old Ireland that is long gone.

What we have in our democracy is a low-cost, low-spend, transparent and accountable system of politics. All anyone would ask is that there is a level playing field for those of us who put our names on a ballot paper and go before the public in order that we are not in competition with a political party that is not following the same rules and guidelines. How can we know that the €4 million has not been spent, or will not be spent, in this jurisdiction by whatever means and however Sinn Féin wishes to do so? That is the issue here. I acknowledge and commend the motion proposed by Senator Ward.