Electoral Administration Act 2006 (Regulation of Loans etc.: Northern Ireland) Order 2008

My Lords, I hope that I do not add to the confusion. As far as I can see, the position is absolutely clear. In order to donate, or indeed to loan, to a political party, you are required to be on the electoral register. It is a mechanism to stop any attempt to channel money to Great Britain. In other words, there is a ring-fence around Great Britain for all the main parties. Some of the main parties in Northern Ireland operate legally, although they may not put up candidates. This is an attempt to ensure that money is not passed from one to the other to undermine the GB restrictions, as much as anything else. It is quite clear that if you are eligible to be on the UK electoral register but are not on it, you still cannot donate. You must be on the UK electoral register to make a donation. If you are an Irish citizen living in Ireland, the order will allow you to donate as long as you are an Irish citizen or an Irish organisation—a company or otherwise—that functions in Ireland and is not a brass nameplate. The rules make that clear in the case of loans, so the rules in respect of this question will be the same for donations as they are for loans.