Against the background of disclosures that pre-election payments of at least £60,000 were made to the former Fianna Fail minister, Mr Ray Burke, in 1989, it is heartening to see elements of reforming legislation passed by the Dail take effect. The Electoral Act of 1997, which provides for the disclosure of donations in excess of £500 to individual politicians and £4,000 to political parties, generated two reports last week. One itemised contributions received by candidates and political parties in the presidential election; the other recorded some of the political donations received in connection with last year's general election.
Because the Act only took effect from May 15th, 1997, shortly before the general election in June, the great bulk of funding escaped the Public Offices Commission's net on this occasion. Still, publishing details of the seven-and-a-half months fundraising by the parties to December 31st last year is a seismic shift in the culture of secrecy in this country. It is also a welcome breach in an unhealthy relationship that can sometimes exist between big business and politics.
Because of their novelty value, full details of these donations were carried in the newspapers on Friday and Saturday but that may not always be so. Individual citizens also have the right, under the law, to inspect all the returns made to the Commission at its offices in Dublin. Of the 16 political parties registered in the State, ten small parties said they received no donations in excess of £4,000. The most successful fundraiser for the seven months was, as might be expected, Fianna Fail, with donations in excess of £200,000. Sinn Fein came second, with about £90,000 raised in the United States. Fine Gael returned £27,500; the Labour Party £17,500; the Progressive Democrats £10,000 and Democratic Left £5,000.
It is clear from these figures - when compared with the expenditure of a couple of million pounds in the election campaign - that particular efforts were made by the parties to complete their fundraising before the new law came into effect on May 15th last year. The same is likely to hold true in relation to donations received by individual TDs, Senators and MEPs. Details of those amounts will be published later this week.
But a start has been made in bringing some transparency into the funding of politics. In order to compensate for the expected fall-off in donations as a result of these disclosures, the State has undertaken to share an annual subvention of £2m between the parties. The new system may be difficult to administer and slow to take effect, but it is a significant advance in the modernisation of our democracy.