December 2003 - Review of Electoral Acts

Election Spending Limits

One of the purposes of the spending limits at elections is to provide equity in the electoral process. Given that some candidates and political parties have greater resources than others, it cannot, of course, be said that this is fully achieved. Many candidates, and some of the smaller parties, simply are not in a position to incur expenditure which is even close to the limits and this will always be the case. In considering the levels at which spending limits have been set, there is a need to examine the consequences of any increase in limits. This arises both in terms of creating, as far as possible, a level playing field for all candidates and parties and from the point of view of what is achieved if higher expenditure is permitted.

Based on feedback from many election agents and national agents at the Dáil general election, the Standards Commission is not aware that the current limits caused a particular difficulty for any party or candidate in the context of their being able to deliver a meaningful campaign. In that regard, the point has been made that the 2002 election was somewhat unique in the sense that there was broad awareness of when the election would be held which presented an opportunity for parties and candidates to engage in widespread canvassing prior to dissolution of the 28th Dáil. This matter is discussed further, later in this document.

In the appendix to this document an analysis is provided of the extent to which spending limits available to parties and candidates at the Dáil general election were used. It will be noted that the limits were not reached by any of the ten parties with candidates standing at the election. The same applied to spending by independent non-party candidates. The figures in the appendix differ from those published previously to the extent that they exclude the value of facilities used at the election where the costs were met out of public funds.

If limits are increased, it will almost certainly be the case that the level of campaigning will grow in line with that increase, as will the gap between those, both individuals and parties, who are in a position to incur higher levels of expenditure and those who are not. Assuming a direct positive correlation between election spending and electoral success, as is suggested by recent published research findings*, it seems to the Standards Commission that, once a reasonable level of spending has been set, which, under the legislation, is capable of being increased in line with the CPI, all participants at the election have, as far as is possible to attain, the same opportunity to attract voter support.

The central question to be addressed is whether the current spending limits, approximately €25,000, €32,000 and €38,000 per candidate in three, four and five seat constituencies, respectively, which include any amounts assigned to a national campaign, are reasonable and adequate for the purpose. In dealing with this issue it is important to consider the matter of equality between different parties and

* See "A FISTFUL OF EUROS : CAMPAIGN SPENDING EFFECTS UNDER THE SINGLE-TRANSFERABLE VOTE ELECTORAL SYSTEM". Kenneth Benoit and Michael Marsh, Trinity College, University of Dublin, 13 October 2003.
candidates in terms of their ability to raise funds to contest an election. It is also important to consider whether having higher limits creates unwelcome additional
pressures on all candidates and political parties to raise more funds with the attendant possibilities that adequate attention is not paid to the sources of the funds or that examination of the motives of those who would be donors is not afforded sufficient priority. It is recognised internationally that having election spending limits in place is an important factor in fighting corruption and safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process.

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