Funding referendums: following the money

The call by the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) for legislation to allow for greater transparency on funding referendum campaigns is timely. Given that the Government is expected to propose a number of referendums next year, the advice from the Commission should be acted on without delay when the Dáil resumes. Successive governments have shown themselves too tardy in implementing Sipo’s recommendations.

The referendum on the Eight Amendment to the Constitution which places the life of the unborn on an equal footing to the mother is likely to be one of the most contentious for some time. Although the Government will not frame the question until after an Oireachtas committee has reported on the issue to Minister for Health Simon Harris, it is expected that a variety of groups will campaign for and against whatever proposed constitutional change emerges.

There are regulations about the involvement of campaign groups in referendums but Sipo says there is a need for a new system which will allow third-party bodies to register for the duration of a particular campaign.

“Provision should be made for transparency in funding and expenditure on referendum campaigns; third parties and political parties should be required to disclose details of expenditure on referendum campaigns,” the commission said in its annual report.

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It also said third parties and political parties should be placed on a similar footing in respect of the information on the sources of funding that is made available publicly. Although political parties are currently bound to disclose spending conducted during election campaigns, this does not apply to referendum campaigns.

The campaign on the Eight Amendment could be very different in character from previous ones because the two major parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, have committed themselves to allowing their TDs a free vote in the Dáil. It is possible the bulk of the spending in the campaign will be by third party groups rather than political parties.