Failure to cut funding of parties criticised

STATE FUNDING to political parties, estimated at about €16 million annually, has not been reduced despite the cuts to all public services, the Dáil has heard during a debate on political funding and gender quotas.

Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan introduced what he described as “the single most significant measure ever brought forward to improve the participation of women in political life”.

The Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill cuts corporate donations and applies quotas to ensure 30 per cent of all candidates at election are women. Failure to comply will result in a cut in political funding from the State.

Mr Hogan accepted an amendment suggested by Independent TD Catherine Murphy that general decreases in Civil Service pay, and not just increases, should be reflected in the State’s fund for political parties. He said, however, “the decreases that have occurred since 2008 would not be retrospectively implemented”.

Ms Murphy said the debate did not deal with the “very large elephant in the room” – the annual exchequer funding to the political system. She said this was in urgent need of change, so people “who are being bombarded with cuts and additional taxes see the political classes also experience a measure of belt-tightening”.

The State funds the political system with €16 million in cash and resources. It was essential to have public funding to ensure private interests did not dominate but it was not in the public interest to have an overly liberal system of funding of the political system. She added that it was “wholly unacceptable” that no vouching system was in place for either the party leaders’ allowance or the allowance for Independents.

Introducing the Bill, which cuts corporate donations without disclosing donors’ identity, Mr Hogan said some advocated a total ban on corporate donations. But he said such a ban “would run the risk of a legal or constitutional challenge”.

But Fianna Fáil environment spokesman Niall Collins said “Fine Gael promised before the election to ban corporate donations”.

Sinn Féin environment spokesman Brian Stanley said his party brought in a quota system a number of years ago. “Many of us were against it, but it was the only measure that cracked the issue in terms of getting women into senior positions in the party.”