PLANS TO limit the amount of money candidates can spend in next year's local council elections have been revealed by Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment John Gormley.
Announcing the move yesterday at the start of a two-day party "think-in" at Tralee, Co Kerry, Mr Gormley said he would be presenting the proposals to the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment next month and intended to bring forward new legislation in time for the local elections in June 2009.
The Oireachtas committee and subsequent legislation would need to address a number of issues, including:
• A calculation of the spending limit that would apply;
• Whether different amounts should apply in elections for city and county councils, and town councils;
• The relationship between spending by national parties and spending by candidates;
• The election period to which the spending limit applies;
• The decision on which regulatory authority would oversee and monitor expenditure;
• The arrangements for disclosure and publicising of spending;
• When the new arrangements would come into operation.
Mr Gormley added: "I am determined to address this issue urgently. It is my intention to put in place meaningful controls on spending in time for next year's elections.
"Limiting the amount of money that election candidates can spend encourages fairer competition and greater participation in the political system.
"I began my political career as an elected representative in Dublin City Council.
"The experience taught me that serving your community as an elected representative is a privilege and an honour.
"It should not be limited according to how much money you have to spend.
"There are widely told stories of election candidates spending up to €50,000 on recent local election campaigns. I believe (that) not only is this wrong, but it also potentially damages the political system.
"The commitment to establish expenditure limits at local elections is part of a number of measures to progressively reform the political system negotiated into the programme for government by the Green Party.
"I am happy to have already published a Green Paper on local government reform that will pave the way for powerful, directly elected mayors, and to have opened a public consultation last month on the issue of election posters," he said.
Mr Gormley said legislation on planning would be a priority for the party for the new Dáil session: "The new legislation that I will publish will make it very clear that local authorities, instead of having regard to guidelines, will have to abide by those guidelines."
The Minister added: "The Green Party in Government means that the type of bad planning we have seen in the past will be a thing of the past."
