asked the Minister for the Environment when he intends to introduce legislation to limit expenditure in elections; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Expenditure on Elections.
16.
There are no proposals for the reintroduction of a statutory limitation on the election expenses of candidates at elections. The limitation was repealed in 1963 on the recommendation of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Electoral Law.
is the Minister aware that we are one of the few countries in the EC which does not have some form of limit on the expenditure at elections? For example, in Britain there is a limit of £4,000 per candidate. Does the Minister think that such a limit would be a good idea in Ireland to equalise the playing field?
I am aware that in the United Kingdom the law places a limit on candidates' expenses and requires returns to be furnished after the election. However, the expenses controlled in this way bear little relation to the total cost of an election campaign because in the UK no account is taken of expenditure at national level by political parties or sponsoring organisations, trade unions, employer bodies or anything of that kind, or indeed of the news media. I bring to the Deputy's attention that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Electoral Law stated that the idea was obsolete, and useless, and I am inclined to agree with them.