Plan to fund parties in general elections runs into difficulties

THE Government may be unable to proceed with plans to provide State funding for candidates and parties for next year's general election.

Government sources have confirmed that attempts to redraft the Electoral Bill, 1994 have run into increasing difficulties. "It is now a question of if, and when, there can be public funding at all", a source said yesterday.

The original plan to provide £2.6 million for political parties was thwarted in June when the Attorney General's office advised it could be unconstitutional. This followed the Supreme Court judgment in the case taken by the Green Party MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna, in the divorce referendum campaign last November.

The court found the Government's use of public money to fund a campaign designed to influence voters in favour of a Yes vote interfered with the democratic process.

Arising from that case, the Attorney General advised that the Government's proposal in the Electoral Bill to make annual payments of £1 per vote to political parties would unbalance the democratic process by using public funds to discriminate in favour of parties already elected, against those seeking to be elected, to the Dail.

During the summer recess, programme managers considered new options to surmount the constitutional impediment to party funding. These include the payment of £1 per vote to all candidates seeking election, irrespective of their success rate, and the payment of extra monies through the current leaders' allowances system.

However, the legality of the leaders' allowance system has now been questioned. It is an arbitrary system, with no equality of treatment between the parties, with the size of the allowance based on a seat threshold and a weighting towards Opposition parties. Some Government sources believe it may be necessary to legislate for the leaders' parliamentary allowances following the McKenna case.

The problems with funding the next campaign have been referred to the Coalition leaders. The issue was not discussed at the Cabinet meeting last Wednesday because of the Taoiseach's absence in Strasbourg. The Tanaiste will be in New York next Wednesday.