The £5,000 limit on financial donations to political parties would not rectify the difficulties that had been experienced in recent years where donations had brought politics into disrepute, Mr Joe Costello (Lab) warned.
However, the Minister of State for the Environment Mr Robert Molloy, expressed confidence that the new limits would meet public concerns about donations.
A Government amendment to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill to provide for the revised amounts was passed by the House.
Mr Costello complained that the £5,000 level for political parties and the £2,000 figure for individual candidates was far too high and did nothing to dispel the public's view that politicians were too close to business.
In view of the issues that had been coming before the various tribunals in recent years, it was incumbent on politicians to ensure credibility was restored to politics. The way to do that was to prohibit all corporate donations.