It is time the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, recognised the unambiguous message that has come from the work of the various tribunals at Dublin Castle and cut the umbilical cord between business and politics. During the course of the last four years, the public has been appalled by a succession of disclosures made to the McCracken, Moriarty and Flood tribunals about political donations, the buying of political influence, the rezoning of land and the subversion of the planning and political systems. But the response of the political establishment has been slow and grudging. That is to be expected, given that corporate funding has traditionally conveyed a considerable advantage to the largest and most business-friendly parties. But times and circumstances change. Democratic politics is now under such threat from a public perception of sleaze and corruption that nothing less than a clean break will do.
Mr Michael Noonan recognised the unhealthy nature of the financial link that exists between business and politics and banned all corporate donations last week in one of his first actions as leader of Fine Gael. It was a shrewd move. The tide of public opinion had already been flowing strongly against corporate funding because of a legislative campaign undertaken some time ago by the Labour Party. But Mr Noonan's action gave it a new impetus and provided a united opposition front to the Coalition partners.
The Government's response was instructive. Rather than address the issue of corporate funding directly, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, challenged the Fine Gael leader to name "the corporate cabal of wealthy businessmen" who had paid for an opinion poll aimed at undermining the leadership of Mr John Bruton within Fine Gael. The Minister spoke of Mr Noonan's "anonymous business benefactors" and "corporate kingmakers" who had sought to manipulate public opinion in relation to the leadership.
It was, of course, a mixture of clever huff and puff, political spin and sheer mischief-making that should have been directed at Mr Jim Mitchell, rather than Mr Noonan. In attacking the new Fine Gael leader, Mr O'Donoghue acknowledged the shadowy role of big business while attempting to preserve the status quo.
Enough is enough. This issue is far too important to be treated as a political football. The public is punch-drunk from revelations of backstairs dealings and corrupt payments in the political and planning arenas. There is a crisis of confidence in the democratic system. And there is a need for a comprehensive renewal of Irish politics. Introducing new disclosure and donation limits for the corporate sector - as Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats propose - would not clear the fog of suspicion that has invested this grey interface between politics and business. The clearest and simplest solution would be to ban all corporate and foreign donations, as with the Quebec system in Canada, while capping contributions from party supporters and making up any shortfall through State funding. Already, the State provides about £3m in political funding through leaders' allowances and election spending. It would be a simple matter to add to that and it is highly unlikely there would be any Constitutional complications. Tricking around with a discredited system, while attempting to distract public attention by attacking Fine Gael, does not wash. The Government should recognise its responsibilities and end corporate funding.