Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 554: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will introduce spending limits for the local elections of 2009; if there will be a scheme for refund for election expenses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8864/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Programme for Government contains a commitment to establish an independent Electoral Commission which will take responsibility for a range of electoral matters including the functions currently exercised by the Standards in Public Office Commission relating to election spending; the Electoral Commission will also examine the issue of financing of the political system. In this regard, a procurement process is underway for the carrying out of preliminary research on issues arising in relation to the establishment of the Electoral Commission.

In accordance with the Programme for Government, my Department will be publishing a Green Paper on local government reform shortly. The Green Paper will examine a number of issues with the objective of making local government more transparent and responsive, and will set out options for reform in advance of a subsequent White Paper. One of the issues which the Green Paper will address is the question of expenditure limits at local elections. There are currently no such limits, although expenditure, as well as donations over a €635 threshold, must be disclosed.