Combined Section 15/16 Manual of the Standards Commission

3.3 Records held by the Standards Commission under the Electoral Acts

The records below are held by the Standards Commission in the performance of its functions under the Electoral Acts. It is indicated on each category of record whether the information contained therein is already in the public domain. Where a document is already in the public domain it can be accessed without recourse to the FOI Acts.

• Annual Donation Statements received from political parties, Members and MEPs. (Published material)
• Donation Statements furnished by unsuccessful candidates at Dáil, Seanad and European elections and by the election agents of candidates at presidential elections. (Published material)
• Correspondence with or relating to Donation Statements furnished by political parties, Members, MEPs, unsuccessful candidates at Dáil, Seanad and European elections and election agents of candidates at presidential elections.
• Correspondence with political parties, Members, MEPs, unsuccessful candidates at Dáil, Seanad and European elections, the election agents of candidates at presidential elections and third parties concerning prohibited donations.
• Certificates of Monetary Donations and statements from financial institutions furnished by Members, MEPs, unsuccessful candidates at Dáil, Seanad and European elections ,the election agents of candidates at presidential elections, the responsible persons of third parties and the responsible persons of accounting units of political parties. (Section 23B(8) of the Electoral Acts provides that the contents of these documents shall not be disclosed by the Standards Commission unless ordered by a Court to do so or where such disclosure is required in connection with an investigation held by the Standards Commission.)
• Correspondence with or relating to Certificates of Monetary Donations and statements from financial institutions furnished by Members, MEPs, unsuccessful candidates at Dáil, Seanad and European elections, the election agents of candidates at presidential elections, the responsible persons of third parties and the responsible persons of accounting units of political parties.
• Donation Statements furnished by individuals who in a calendar year, made donations the aggregate value of which exceeded €5,078.95 to one or more members of the same political party or to a political party itself and one or more of it's members. (Published material)
• Correspondence with the above individuals.
• Correspondence with companies, trades unions, representative bodies, Companies Registration Office and Office of the Registrar of Friendly Societies regarding section 26 of the Electoral Acts.
• Correspondence with political parties regarding the notification of their accounting units.
• Correspondence with accounting units regarding the requirements of the Electoral Acts.
• Details of third parties who have registered with the Standards Commission (Published material).
• Correspondence with third parties or potential third parties regarding the requirements of the Electoral Acts.Public notices and explanatory notes published by the Standards Commission (Published material)
• Correspondence with publishers of newspapers, magazines etc. regarding the requirements of sections 31(10) or 52(9) of the Electoral Acts.
• Correspondence with Returning Officers regarding the appointment of election agents and with political parties regarding the appointment of appropriate officers and the appointment of national agents.
• Election Expenses Statements and supporting documentation (invoices, receipts or vouchers) furnished by candidate's election agents, national agents and "other persons" at Dáil and European elections and by candidate's election agents at a presidential election. (Published material)
• Correspondence with election agents, national agents and "other persons" concerning their requirements under the Electoral Acts and in relation to their Election Expenses Statements.
• Applications for Reimbursement of Election Expenses received from qualified candidates at Dáil and European elections. (Published material)
• Correspondence with qualified candidates concerning their reimbursement of election expenses and with the Dept. of Finance concerning the payment of reimbursements.
• Statements of Expenditure of Exchequer Funding and auditor's reports received from qualified political parties. (Published material)
• Correspondence with appropriate officers of qualified political parties concerning their requirements under the Electoral Acts in relation to Exchequer funding and in relation to the Statements of Expenditure of Exchequer funding furnished by them.
• Correspondence with the Dept. of Finance concerning the payments of Exchequer funding to qualified parties under the Electoral Acts.
• Guidelines issued to candidates, election agents and national agents at Dáil, Seanad, European and Presidential elections. (Published material)
• Guidelines issued to Members, MEPs and political parties concerning the acceptance and disclosure of political donations and to qualified political parties concerning expenditure of Exchequer funding received under the Electoral Acts. (Published material)
• Advice on compliance with the legislation which is given to appropriate officers and national agents of political parties, Members and MEPs, candidates at Dáil, Seanad, European and presidential elections, election agents of candidates at Dáil, European and presidential elections and the responsible persons of third parties and accounting units of political parties.Reports furnished by the Standards Commission to the Ceann Comhairle. (Published material)
• Press releases issued by the Standards Commission. (Published material)
• Reports concerning enquiries conducted into possible contraventions of the Electoral Acts. (Published material)
• Correspondence concerning enquiries conducted into possible contraventions of the Electoral Acts.

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