I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Companies Acts, 1862 to 1963.
I have pleasure in proposing this Bill. I must confess to some surprise at and ignorance of the reasons which might prompt the Government to oppose it. It is very short and refers in very broad terms to the necessity for the making of disclosures by companies of moneys paid by them to political parties.
I do not propose to go into any more detail on the wording of the Bill because it would not be appropriate at this stage. However, I should like to point out to the House that there are many precedents for legislation of this kind. Similar legislation is, in fact, in force in Britain. If the Bill was accepted, it would rectify the anomaly that has existed since the trade union legislation was passed earlier this year. That put the trade unions under very stringent regulations with regard to the manner in which they might dispose of their money for political purposes and the disclosures required to be made thereunder. It seems to be quite inequitable for this kind of restriction to apply to the trade union movement and not to apply to the other sector of the economy: that represented by private companies.
I have no hesitation at all in recommending the Bill to the House. It is one that might have been made a non-party issue. For a political party to oppose a Bill like this seems to imply that that party has something to hide. I have no knowledge of the kind of situation that would be revealed if this Bill were passed. Irrespective of that we owe it to our democratic institutions and to the conduct of public life in general to pass this Bill, or at the very least to give it a First Reading so that sensible consideration of it may take place during the Summer Recess. We need this Bill more than ever at a time when the conduct of our institutions is coming under increasing public scrutiny and at a time when there is every need to reinforce public confidence in our institutions and in the political parties.
I have pleasure in proposing the introduction of the Bill.