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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

My Lords, in speaking to Amendment No. 8 in my name, I shall also speak to the Liberal Democrat Amendment No. 7. This is an important issue. At the end of the Committee stage, I certainly did not feel that the Government had any idea how they were going to manage this. The Minister was very keen to assure us that the laws were sufficient safeguards and that our regulations would remain consistent with those of the Republic of Ireland. My information, in private discussions with Irish Government Members, does not encourage me to think that way at all—rather the reverse. A number of serious offences can be committed by a party in this area, including submitting an inaccurate form and facilitating donations from impermissible donors. People unconnected with the party can also commit offences. That is all fairly familiar to us. It is an offence to withhold information from a party about a possible illegal donation. Can the Minister explain exactly who will have responsibility for investigating all these possibilities in Northern Ireland and abroad and when many of them will take place? Can he explain exactly who will be making sure that political funds come from legitimate sources, not bank robberies, illegal donations or extortion money? Is the Electoral Commission to be given wide-ranging new powers to travel abroad to ensure that the people involved are who they claim to be, or will that role be delegated to the Irish authorities or the authorities of the country in which the donor is resident? The recent controversy over party fundraising merely serves to highlight how important it is to maintain complete transparency about where parties get their money from. Little more needs to be said. I do not believe that the Government have a grip on this or that they understand how they will manage this. I would like to hear it from the Minister.