Political donations

Madam, - I am bemused by the suggestion made by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, that our politicians should be allowed…

Madam, - I am bemused by the suggestion made by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, that our politicians should be allowed to receive larger, not smaller, donations from the business sector. Transparency, he says, is more important than the size of donations (The Irish Times, June 16th).

But surely the size of the donation is directly linked to the degree of influence which the donor can exercise over the decisions to be made by a politician? What precisely is all the money for? For essential political purposes, or for make-up and image consultants? Through my involvement in heritage campaigning I have learned that it is possible to do an awful lot with just a few hundred euro. - Yours, etc.,

Dr DAVID EDWARDS, Department of History, University College, Cork.