Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 440: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the progress made on the recommendations of the Moriarty Tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21296/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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On 15 December 2011, I published the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill. In developing this Bill I have had particular regard to recommendations made in the Moriarty Tribunal Report, published in March 2011. The Bill has passed all stages in the Seanad and is currently before the Dáil at second stage. It will, when enacted, fundamentally change the way politics is funded and conducted in Ireland. The Bill provides that political parties will be required to submit their annual accounts to the Standards in Public Office Commission for publication. This provision will address the Moriarty Tribunal recommendation that all income of political parties be disclosed. It will go beyond this recommendation by providing that the expenditure of parties is also reported and open to public scrutiny.

The Tribunal recommended that all political donations, apart from those under a modest threshold, be disclosed. The Bill provides that the threshold at which donations must be declared by a political party to the Standards in Public Office Commission will fall from €5,078.95 to €1,500. The declaration threshold for a donation received by a candidate or elected representative is to be reduced from €634.87 to €600. There is provision for a reduction from €5,078.95 to €200 in the threshold at which donations must be reported by companies, trade unions, societies and building societies in their annual reports or returns. In addition the Bill provides for a reduction in the threshold for donors other than companies, trade unions, societies and building societies, in reporting donations to the Standards in Public Office Commission, from a figure of €5,078.95 to €1,500 for aggregate donations given in the same year.

The Moriarty Tribunal Report noted that the desirability and feasibility of a complete ban on private political funding is pre-eminently a matter for the Oireachtas, and for public debate and consideration, having regard to constitutional issues that might arise and to the national financial exigencies. With reference to this comment in the Tribunal Report, a noteworthy provision in the Bill is the introduction of a ban on the acceptance of donations over €200 for political purposes from a corporate donor unless the donor has registered with the Standards in Public Office Commission. The Government's objective is to restrict the influence of corporate donors. Such donations will also need to be accompanied by a statement confirming that the donation has been approved by a general meeting of the members of the body, or by its trustees.

As a further reforming measure, the Bill provides that the maximum amount that can be accepted as a political donation by an individual is being reduced from €2,539.48 to €1,000. This €1,000 limit will apply in respect of donations to a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a Member of the European Parliament or a member of a local authority, as well as a candidate at a Presidential, Dáil, Seanad, European Parliament or local election. The maximum amount that can be accepted as a donation by a political party, an accounting unit of a political party or a third party is being reduced to €2,500. The current figure is €6,348.69. This Bill will significantly enhance the openness and transparency of political funding in Ireland, issues that were central to the recommendations made in the Moriarty Tribunal Report.