asked the Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism if he will consider introducing legislation to require building societies to disclose publicly contributions made to political parties; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

There are already provisions in the Building Societies Act, 1976, under which such disclosure could be made mandatory by the Registrar of Building Societies. These provisions are found in sections 62 and 70 of that Act and they empower the Registrar to prescribe the form of the annual accounts and annual return of a building society. The existing forms are at present under review by the Registrar and I understand that the need to regulate the matter referred to in the question will arise for consideration.

I take it from the Minister's reply this is a matter for the Registrar of Friendly Societies. Has the Minister any information with regard to the question asked and has he consulted with his Fine Gael colleagues in Government before replying to the question?

I have consulted with nobody except my Department. As the Deputy will be aware, the Registrar is an independent officer established under the Building Societies Acts and other Acts and he has informed me that this is a matter he will be inquiring into in an overall review he is carrying out.

Would the Minister agree that building societies are in fact making contributions to political parties and this is an abuse of the moneys these societies have?

I would not like to prejudge the review to be undertaken by the Registrar. He is examining the question of the legality of such payments, if they are being made. If they are not legally proper, then perhaps the present law should be changed. It is my personal opinion that all political contributions over a certain figure, irrespective of source, should be disclosed.

9.