New proposals for Electoral Bill put before Coalition leaders

NEW proposals have been put before the Coalition leaders to reorder the Bill providing £2.6 million in funding for political parties. This was confirmed by the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, when he indicated the Government still intended to proceed with the public funding of the parties.

The Electoral Bill, 1994, has been stalled at Committee Stage in the Dail since the Supreme Court judgment in the case taken by the Green Party MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna, in the divorce referendum campaign.

The Government was subsequently advised by the Attorney General's Office that it could not proceed with the Electoral Bill in its present form on constitutional grounds. It was suggested it could be possible to fund political parties if the Bill was changed.

The Bill proposed "limited public funding" of parties with total annual payments of £1 per vote. The central problem was that it would unbalance the democratic process by using public money to discriminate in favour of parties already elected against those seeking to be elected.

The new proposals, recently forwarded to Government leaders, are seeking to find an equivalence between outgoing TDs and people seeking election from outside the Dail.