NOT since 1992 has there been such intense agreement between the Dail parties on the need for a new start in political life. TDs are tripping over each other in their anxiety to reassure the public of their probity. The Dunnes Stores revelations have had a devastating impact in Leinster House.

Politicians have only themselves to blame for the mess and the loss in public confidence. We have all been here before.

Connections between big business and politics exist in a grey area.

And, as Irish society has grown wealthier and more complex, and the practice of politics more expensive, the grey has darkened.

Political contributions are supposed to come without strings attached. All party leaders insist that donations never influence government policy. But in the world of government and big business it can sometimes happen that interests Coincide. Modern business is never short of lobbyists.

Public controversy in the 1960s over the fundraising activities of Thea and Fianna Fail's £100 a plate dinners is seen, in the modern context, as an echo from a simple past. Nowadays, tens of thousands of pounds - and more - can change hands as gestures of goodwill.

Since 1992, Fianna Fail is reported to have cleared close on £3 million of its £3.5 million debt and Fine Gael is back in the black after eliminating a deficit of £1.3 million. The Labour Party had a small deficit in 1992 but Dail by elections, local authority and European elections have now pushed the overdraft to £200,000. The PDs are said to be in good financial health.

THE surge in fundraising by the two big parties was triggered by the knowledge that new controls and disclosure mechanisms were about to be introduced by the Fianna Fail/Labour Coalition. It was given urgency by the belief that private funding by companies would diminish once the details became public.

The Electoral (Amendment) Bill provides for the disclosure of donations of £500 and upwards to individual politicians and of £4,000 and more to political parties. Anonymous donations in excess of £100 cannot be accepted. The Bill was drafted by the former Fianna Fail minister, Michael Smith, as part of Dick Spring's price for going into government. Another demand was the Ethics in Government and Public Office Act which was prepared bye Eithne Fitzgerald.

The two pieces of legislation were adopted by the incoming Fine Gael/Labour Party/Democratic Left Government. The Ethics Bill was filleted, but eventually passed into law. The Electoral Bill was halted by the McKenna judgment 14 months ago and has languished at Committee Stage ever since.

The McKenna judgment in connection with State spending on the divorce referendum found that equal State funding, or none, should apply in areas of political contest. The Attorney General, Dermot Gleeson, advised that, under its terms, five sections of the Electoral Bill dealing with State funding were unconstitutional.

Over the past few months, discussions on how the Bill might be advanced have inched forward. But with money rolling into Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and the Labour Party worried it would be accused by the Progressive Democrats of ripping off the public purse, little progress was made. Until last week. The Dunnes Stores revelations and rumours changed all that.

BERTIE Ahern demanded early action on the legislation in the Dail yesterday, as a means of reassuring the public. John Bruton proffered it as ban import ant reform during his visit loo Brussels. Dick Spring suggested that agreement between the party whips could be reached "within a matter of days, as a matter of urgency". Mary Harney is reviewing the situation but is unlikely to soften the party's opposition to State funding.

The present circumstances echo the public unease which gave rise to the Bill in the first place. Talk of "golden circles" and political/business controversies involving Irish Sugar/Greencore, the Telecom site in Ballsbridge and the beef industry contributed to demands for transparency in political funding.

The Bill also limits the amount of money that can be spent at election time by parties and politicians and it establishes a constituency revision body for Dail and European elections on a statutory basis.

It is expected the new State funding provisions will replace the system of party leaders' allowances. Two thirds of the £600,000 available under that scheme goes to the opposition parties. Fianna Fail, with 67 TDs, gets two thirds, and the Progressive Democrats, with eight TDs, get one third. The same holds true in Government for the shareout between Fine Gael and the Labour Party. Democratic Left, the Green Party and Independent deputies get nothing because a party must hold eight Dail seats to qualify.

The Attorney General has advised that this traditional system of funding would not stand up to scrutiny under the terms of the McKenna judgment. Democratic Left would be delighted to see the back of it.

It may have taken another Government crisis to generate it, but changes definitely on the way.