The Electoral Commission qualitative research, conducted in conjunction with the pollster Ipsos MORI, found a high degree of scepticism about political donations among the Northern Irish public.
All donations in Northern Ireland over £7,500 must be declared, as is the case in the rest of the UK. Last year, Sinn Fein received a record £4m in the will of a reclusive English market trader.
But with far less money in Northern Irish politics, many donations are too low to qualify for publication.
The electoral watchdog found “a strong consensus” that “the current donation thresholds are too high as they would allow individuals or businesses to donate a significant sum without being subject to public scrutiny.”
The report found that the reporting threshold “constitutes a loophole within the current regime, leaving it vulnerable to corruption. This caused the majority to believe that the regime is not transparent. Rather, they view it as a regime that is malleable to the desired political and economic ends of the wealthy and powerful.”
“It’s clear that the current rules on reporting donations – drafted in the late 1990s – are not fit for purpose,” Dr Jess Garland, director of policy and research at the Electoral Reform Society, said.
“The £500 threshold is a major loophole that leaves the door wide open for abuse, with funders potentially able to split up big donations into smaller ones and hide under the radar. Voters deserve basic transparency over who has steered our political debate, in Northern Ireland and across the UK.
“Even when official figures are released, lax reporting rules mean voters are often little wiser as to how campaigners were targeting their resources, with social media spend often concealed from real scrutiny.
“The government must listen to the consensus that it’s time to drag Britain’s dangerously outdated political finance rules into the 21st century. Otherwise, ‘dark’, untraceable donations risk becoming the norm.”
The DUP has yet to respond to requests for comment.
