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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

My Lords, I shall try to give a bit more explanation, although we debated this in Grand Committee. That is not an excuse for not discussing this matter, as noble Lords have every right to bring it back on Report. I should tell the noble Lord, Lord Kilclooney, that, as I said in my original response, the Bill takes account of the special factors on the island of Ireland. We are not denying that; it is not being slipped in by the back door. It is open to anybody in the United Kingdom—England, Scotland and Wales—if they are on the electoral register, to donate to the political parties in Northern Ireland. The unionists in Northern Ireland are not limited to raising funds in Northern Ireland. Anyone would think that they were being treated differently from everybody else in the UK, but they are not; people are free to give to political parties in the United Kingdom, if they are on the electoral register. It is up to them who they give to; it is not a closed area. It is not as though unionists are prevented from seeking funds outside Northern Ireland. There is the rest of the United Kingdom, for a start. The debate which we have just had on Amendments Nos. 7 and 8 goes to the reasoning behind these clauses, and I shall have to repeat some of those points. This is a big step forward. At present, notwithstanding the complaints of the noble Lord, Lord Kilclooney, anybody in the world can get money into the Northern Ireland political parties secretly, without anything being published or known about it. This Bill stops that. It does not go all the way, but it is a big step forward. When the disapplication period is over, by 2010, Northern Ireland parties and the donees will continue to be able to accept donations from Irish citizens and other Irish bodies who are legally able to donate to Irish parties—that being the Republic. This is a narrowing of the regime. I take the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Smith, about the inability to amend secondary legislation that comes before this House, but I re-emphasise that it does not come out of the blue. It will come following consultation. I have got something completely wrong here—if this is the case, I do not think it is fair. You have to be on the Northern Ireland electoral register to donate to Northern Ireland parties, but that cannot be the case if you can donate from abroad. If you are eligible to donate in the Republic, you are eligible to donate to the North. That is the difference. There is a restriction, but it applies equally to nationalist and unionist, because it is up to people where they give their money.