Enda and corporate donations - a costly mistake?

[Mug Ruith]

Should Enda Kenny have reversed the decision by Michael Noonan to ban corporate donations? It seems that the Party is doing well enough with its national draw, so why concur with Fianna Fáil and accept donations from developers and business people, even within statutory limits?

Yesterday in the Dáil, Paul Gogarty was able to tear Fine Gael to shreds because of this one simple issue. Have Fine Gael lost their opportunity to smear FF because they simply aren't squeaky-clean enough?

Here is what Gogarty had to say on Thursday last. Judging by the replies from the opposition benches, it certainly hit a nerve:

Deputy Paul Gogarty: I had to apologise to the Joint Committee on Education and Science, of which I am Chairman, for leaving it to come here, but I felt it was important to comment on this issue. I reiterate the Green Party’s absolute confidence in the Mahon tribunal. I come from a constituency that is very much the focus of the workings of the tribunal, which has alleged, and in some cases demonstrated, corrupt practices by councillors from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. If an Opposition party wants to cast aspersions, it should at least start from the position of being on high moral ground. Unfortunately, that is not the case. To my mind, the only person with any real morality in a leadership position in Fine Gael over the past number of years is Deputy Michael Noonan, because, at some cost to Fine Gael’s electoral prospects, he abolished corporate donations within the party. He said Fine Gael would not take corporate donations.

Unfortunately, this was reversed. The coffers of Fine Gael have grown once again. As Members know, the Green Party does not take such donations. It is always in the halfpenny place when trying to compete with Fine Gael on the ground. That is unfortunate, but it is the way things stand. If Fine Gael wants to convince the larger parties, be it Fianna Fáil or the Labour Party, which takes generous trade union donations, that this is not the way to go and that political decisions must be seen to be taken without a hint of influence, it should, as the main Opposition party, show leadership, abolish corporate donations and fight with one hand tied behind its back as the Green Party does at election time.


Deputy Shane McEntee: Like the Green Party, which wants to abolish fishing, shooting and hunting.


Deputy Paul Gogarty: That is quite untrue. I want to tell the Opposition about hypocrisy.


Deputy Shane McEntee: The Green Party wants to abolish rural life. It wants us all on our bicycles riding around Dublin.


Deputy Paul Gogarty: Currently in my constituency, An Bord Pleanála is about to consider a strategic development zone called Clonburris, which is even bigger than Adamstown. The plan for Clonburris was passed recently by members of South Dublin County Council. When the Leader of the Seanad, Senator Frances Fitzgerald, heard it was passed she said the campaign against Clonburris was not yet over, that we still had An Bord Pleanála. She said in the Lucan newsletter that Fine Gael had launched a first appeal against the Clonburris strategic development zone. However, the two Fine Gael councillors at the meeting voted for the development plans. The Senator said one thing, but the councillors said something else. If that is not hypocrisy, or at least stupidity, I do not know what is.


Deputy Simon Coveney: The Deputy should talk to the motion.


Deputy Paul Kehoe: The Deputy is the most yellow member of the Green Party.


Deputy Fergus O’Dowd: The Deputy moved to the Government side of the House despite saying how corrupt it was when he was in Opposition.


An Ceann Comhairle: Allow Deputy Gogarty to finish his contribution.


Deputy Paul Gogarty: I have a valid excuse to ask those two councillors why they supported this plan. The reason I can ask that question is because Fine Gael takes money from developers. It has Galway and Punchestown tents. It should show some moral leadership and stop taking corporate donations. Maybe then, it could start throwing muck.


Deputy Fergus O’Dowd: The Green Party has given Fianna Fáil the green light.


Deputy Paul Gogarty: Fine Gael’s record in my constituency is abysmal. The transport gridlock and the chronic congestion are just as much the fault of the Fine Gael Party.


Deputy Shane McEntee: The Green Party betrayed the people and rural Ireland after the election.


Deputy Paul Kehoe: On a point of order, has Deputy Gogarty any evidence that Fine Gael is taking money from developers?


An Ceann Comhairle: That is not a point of order. We will move on. I call Deputy Mansergh.


Deputy Paul Gogarty: It has taken donations from developers and still does.


Deputy Paul Kehoe: Has the Deputy any substantive evidence of that?


Deputy Paul Gogarty: It is still, legitimately, taking them.

[Compound Fracture]

Noonan ended corporate donations. And then the public took 20 seats from us.

Pretty resounding reason to decide to accept them again, wouldn't you think?

When a twat like Paul Gogarty is telling Fine Gael to stop taking corporate donations, while not saying a word to his own coalition partners, I should hope that it spurs FG into raising as much money as possible to blow the runt out of the Dáil the next time - but beginning by taking daddy's council seat next year

[Gombeen]

Noonan ended corporate donations. And then the public took 20 seats from us.

Pretty resounding reason to decide to accept them again, wouldn't you think?

And there was me thinking that FG might have possibly recovered in 2007 based on hard work and their perceived competence to run the country. I stand corrected. You seriously think Baldy banning corporate donations was what saw FG trounced in 2002?

[Rocky]

Noonan ended corporate donations. And then the public took 20 seats from us.

Pretty resounding reason to decide to accept them again, wouldn't you think?

And there was me thinking that FG might have possibly recovered in 2007 based on hard work and their perceived competence to run the country. I stand corrected. You seriously think Baldy banning corporate donations was what saw FG trounced in 2002?

Although money isn't everything in politics it would be stupid to say it's irrelevant and more money helps any campaign. There were of course many factors in FG’s resurrection and the increase in money which came from many areas was one of them.

I would prefer if corporate donations were illegal. However they’re not and there isn’t anything instantly corrupt about them and FG has enough problems as it is trying to compete financially with FF, so it wouldn’t be in FG’s best interests to reject them, while FF continue to accept them

Finally I think Michael Noonan deserves a bit more respect then to be referred to as Baldy.

[geraghd]

Well Id like to know how much FG actually gets from corporate donations, but Id imagine it is very small in the grand scheme of fundraising so I could then infer that banning them wouldn't do very much materially to FG finances.
Generally speaking they should be banned, there is absolutely no legitimate reason why a company should want to contribute to a politician or party.

[lostexpectation]

it doesn't conflict with FG principals to take corporate donations, aslong as they are transparent, why prompted noonan to ban them specifically?

[Rocky]

Well Id like to know how much FG actually gets from corporate donations, but Id imagine it is very small in the grand scheme of fundraising so I could then infer that banning them wouldn't do very much materially to FG finances.
Generally speaking they should be banned, there is absolutely no legitimate reason why a company should want to contribute to a politician or party.

I'd say it is small, but Enda at the same time must have brought them back for a reason. However as I said I think they should made illegal as well.

[geraghd]

Well Id like to know how much FG actually gets from corporate donations, but Id imagine it is very small in the grand scheme of fundraising so I could then infer that banning them wouldn't do very much materially to FG finances.
Generally speaking they should be banned, there is absolutely no legitimate reason why a company should want to contribute to a politician or party.

I'd say it is small, but Enda at the same time must have brought them back for a reason. However as I said I think they should made illegal as well.

Yeah, but I imagine it was a small part of an overall strategy to overhaul FG's operations. Would be interesting to see the actual figures though..

[Gombeen]

Finally I think Michael Noonan deserves a bit more respect then to be referred to as Baldy.

I'm sure he's been called worse! I say it quite affectionately actually. Despite the 2002 debacle, I actually have a lot more admiration for Michael Noonan than Enda Kenny (his position on corporate donations being one reason, among others). I think Noonan was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't believe it had anything to do with his ability or lack of corporate donation. FF were on a roll and the economy was on such a high in 2002 that FG were in for a trouncing, no matter who was leader. Although I will give Enda Kenny a lot of credit for resusitating FG, I sincerely believe FG would have still been whipped in 2002 with him as leader.

[NotDevsSon]

Noonan's actions were honourable but foolhardy. Political parties need money to function. His decision left his party struggling financially. Journalists who covered the 2002 campaign talk about FG's shoestring campaign, its campaign HQ mess - a location and building utterly unsuitable to run a campaign from. That was down to money.

Corporate donations are a cancer in politics. Ireland does have a degree of transparency in terms of donations now that far exceeds what is found anywhere else. The only way to remove corporate donations completely is for ALL parties to stop taking them simultaneously and have an alternative revenue stream. FG simply could not function if it was the only party not taking them. The policy in 2002 left FG in a financial mess that cost it dearly because it meant it could not fund an effective campaign. In contrast FF, Labour and the Greens all had access to money from the private sector, including the corporate sector.