Corporate political donations should be outlawed and donations by individuals to politicians or political parties should not exceed £1,000, the former Fianna Fail financial director, Mr Sean Fleming, has said.
The Laois-Offaly TD told the Oireachtas sub-committee investigating proposals for a standards in public office Bill an additional £4 million should be allocated each year so that parties would be funded totally by the Exchequer.
"We are spending many millions of pounds per annum on the various tribunals and the root cause in many cases goes back to payments to politicians. We would be far better off investing some of this money in providing full public funding for the parties and eliminating all corporate donations once and for all," Mr Fleming told the sub-committee.
Last July, Mr Fleming was drawn into the controversy over political donations to the former minister, Mr Ray Burke. He told the Dail he had informed the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, of his suspicions that Mr Burke had not disclosed to Fianna Fail the full amount of a political donation made to him by Rennicks. Mr Fleming said he had never made the present Taoiseach and former party treasurer, Mr Ahern, aware of his suspicions. Mr Fleming estimates the cost to the Exchequer of fully subventing political parties would be £7 million.
He told yesterday's sub-committee meeting the existing Exchequer allocation to political parties "may not be widely known". A total of £3,107,965 is being made available by the Exchequer to the various political parties and Independents this year. More than £2 million is being allocated under the party leaders' allowance scheme, and another £1,048,064 is to be given out under the 1997 Electoral Act. "Given that the Exchequer has gone a substantial way down the road towards subventing the political system, we should complete the process and provide for full funding for all parties."
In such a regime all party accounts and financial records would be published and laid before the Dail each year. The Comptroller and Auditor General would report on the accounts annually.
Any new legislation should also provide funding for new candidates, candidates who failed to be elected and new political parties. "If there were not such a mechanism in the legislation it would be biased in favour of the established political parties."
Mr Fleming told the sub-committee that revelations in recent years had "highlighted links between business and politics". There should be "no hidden influences on the political system" and legislation should be brought forward "to outlaw once and for all business donations to politicians and political parties".
Politicians should also ensure "that no organisation or umbrella group can be allowed to act as a collection agent of funds for onward transmission for political purposes. Sooner or later the political system will have to accept that corporate donations to politicians and political parties are no longer acceptable. We should take the lead now."
