We need a vibrant and active civil society. Otherwise politicians and big business will call all the shots, writes Senator Lynn Ruane.
Lynn Ruane Independent Senator CIVIL SOCIETY IN Ireland has been at the coal face of the transformation of Irish society.
I believe we should support vibrant and active civil society spaces because these varied voices create great diversity within our national debates. If they were silenced – that would leave politicians and influential corporations to decide the future of our country alone. In 2001, a change was made to extend the Act to include donations received for referendum campaigns and to include donations received by third parties for ‘political purposes’.
As a result of the problematic wording, the Standards in Public Office Commission are obliged to apply the same rigorous and financial declaration standards to any group, who advocates for any particular outcome in relation to any government policy. These are enforced by significant criminal offences; the penalty for non-compliance for a third party could be as high as a €25,000 fine and three years’ imprisonment.
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