Gender and donation Bill to be published

LEGISLATION ON gender quotas and measures relating to corporate donations taking into account the recommendations of the Moriarty tribunal report will be published before Christmas.

The Cabinet yesterday agreed to publish the Electoral Amendment Political Funding Bill 2011, which will halve State funding to parties unless 30 per cent of their general election candidates are women.

The target will rise to 40 per cent for subsequent national polls. The current Dáil has 166 seats, 25 of which are filled by women.

The Bill will “address issues raised in the Moriarty report”, according to a Government source. The tribunal recommended all donations to political parties be disclosed, along with donors’ financial and commercial interests. The Bill will also cut the limits on political donations that may be accepted by a political party from €6,348.69 to €2,500 and €2,539.48 to €1,000 by an individual politician.

The threshold at which donations must be declared to the Standards in Public Office Commission will be reduced from €5,078.95 to €1,500 by a party and from €634.87 to €600 for an individual.

Political donations from trade unions, companies and societies above €200 will have to be reported in annual accounts. The previous threshold was €5,078.

Labour TD Joanna Tuffy has queried the constitutionality of the measure to halve State funding to parties unless 30 per cent of their general election candidates are women, as has former attorney general and minister for justice Michael McDowell.

Ms Tuffy’s party colleague Kathleen Lynch, Minister of State at the Department of Health, said Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan, bringing in the legislation, had been assured by Attorney General Máire Whelan that there would be no constitutional difficulties with the proposal.

However, Ms Lynch said his plan would only succeed if a “large pool of suitably qualified women” was prepared to go forward for election.Twenty-one constituencies do not have a single female member in the House.