Party funding is again in the headlines after news that a member of the Irish parliament has made a £1 million donation to the Conservatives.

News of the gift by Irish senator and pharmaceutical boss Edward Haughey, a member of the Upper House of the Irish parliament, was released on Monday reviving the debate over foreign funding of political parties.

Under new regulations which came into force earlier this year, UK political parties must now disclose the identities of big money donors.

Haughey is entitled to give money to British parties as long as he is registered to vote in the UK. His main residence is in Northern Ireland and his company, Norbrook Laboratories, is also based there. Irish citizens are entitled to vote in British elections so Haughey would not need a UK passport to comply with funding rules.

Haughey, whose fortune is estimated at £200 million, made a lump sum donation of £1 million from his company and a personal gift of £119,000, the Times reports.

The independent body which oversees new controls on donations to political parties, the Electoral Commission, is due to publish details this week of the funding of all political parties in the run up to the general election.

Haughey's reported £1 million donation to the Conservatives follows in the wake of the £5 million gifts to the party from betting tycoon Stuart Wheeler and millionaire philanthropist John Paul Getty Jnr as well as £1 million received from Lord Ashcroft.

Labour has also gained from rich backers, receiving £2 million each from Lord Sainsbury, Christopher Ondaatje and Lord Hamlyn.