Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have to say I am disappointed by that response. If a political party is organised on the basis that a small group of people effectively determine everything, even who can or cannot be a candidate, who can be selected or deselected, who can join the party or be booted out of the party, or whatever, the public is entitled to know that. The scheme of the legislation at present is that the public is not entitled to know that. The only person who is entitled to know what goes on within a party's rules is the registrar, who has to satisfy himself or herself that there is an annual conference and some kind of executive body elected by the members in whatever way the party chooses, which means there can be different classes of members electing. I have no problem with parties giving more weight to some people in some contexts, such as leadership votes, but the people are entitled to know that. If people are to be obliged to satisfy the registrar that they have rules for some purposes, I cannot see any reason that the public should not be able to see what the rules of a party are.

If the rules of a party were to change in a dramatically undemocratic direction so as to give one person, for example, the leader of a party or the chairman of its national executive of a party, the right to veto A, B and C or to decide who will or will not be candidates, or whatever, the public is entitled to know all of that. I plead with the Minister of State to take this matter seriously before Report Stage. If he has a quibble with the phraseology of the amendment, so be it. The principle is simple. A party has to come along with its rules to get registered. Presumably, there is something to be said for having a party that has amended its rules inform somebody that the rules under which it originally registered are no longer the rules. The public is entitled to know that.

I ask the Minister of State to reconsider this matter before Report Stage, allow the public to see exactly how every political party is organised, for example, whether there is an ard comhairle, a national executive or whatever, and let people work out where the power exists in any party.