Plan to cap spending on local elections

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS imposing spending limits on local election candidates are to be announced soon by Minister for the Environment John Gormley.

The Minister told the Dáil he intended that the limits be in place for next summer's local elections.

"The programme for government contains a commitment to examine spending limits at local elections as part of the Green Paper on local government.

"Submissions made in the course of preparing the Green Paper, published in April, were generally supportive of some kind of expenditure limit.''

Meanwhile, there were heated exchanges between the Minister and James Bannon (FG, Longford-Westmeath) when Mr Bannon said the electoral legislation should be amended to allow civil servants to join political parties.

Mr Bannon claimed the Green Party's invitation to civil servants to join a so-called supporters' list was a "sinister development''.

He said he sensed a conflict between Mr Gormley's ministerial position and the Greens targeting civil servants to make donations to the party.

"The Minister is attempting to politicise the public service, and, in my opinion, it is crossing a very thin line.''

Mr Gormley said he had no plans to introduce legislation to allow civil servants participate in the electoral process. He accused Mr Bannon of making political points.

"I do not believe that civil servants, who, by the way, do such an outstanding job, should be engaged in political activity in any shape or form,'' the Minister added.

Mr Bannon said a supporter was the same as an active party member helping towards the election of party members. "The Minister has publicly and blatantly invited the impartial civil servants to become members of a political party in everything but name.''

Mr Gormley said Fine Gael had church-gate collections but he did not intend to go into its fundraising activities.

"Does the deputy ask the person who is contributing if they are a civil servant?'' asked Mr Gormley.