December 2006 - Guidelines for Political Parties on donations and prohibited donations

12. Offences and penalties

A person will be guilty of an offence if he or she:

• fails to take the appropriate action (as set out in part 5) in relation to receipt of an anonymous donation, a foreign donation or a donation in excess of the prescribed limit (applies to an appropriate officer and/or the responsible person of an accounting unit)
• fails to furnish a Donation Statement and the required statutory declaration to the Standards Commission on or before 31 March each year (appropriate officer only)
• where required, fails to furnish to the Standards Commission, on or before 31 March each year, a statement from a financial institution and/or a Certificate of Monetary Donations (appropriate officer and/or a responsible person), or
• knowingly furnishes a Donation Statement and/or a statement from a financial institution and/or a Certificate of Monetary Donations, which is false or misleading in any material respect (appropriate officer and/or a responsible person).

A person will be guilty of an offence if he or she fails to take the appropriate action in relation to a donation from a donor whom the person is aware is required to furnish a Donation Statement (under section 24(1A) of the Act) and does not intend to do so (see part 5(d)) (applies to any person who is a member, agent or any other officer of a political party).

Proceedings for an offence will not be instituted except by, or with the consent of, the Director of Public Prosecutions. If would be a defence to a prosecution of an appropriate officer or a responsible person of an accounting unit that the individual did not and could not reasonably have known of the receipt of a donation acceptance of which is prohibited or a donation the value of which exceeded €5,078.95.

A person found guilty of an offence will be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €1,269.74. Where the conviction is for failing to furnish a Donation Statement, a statement of an institution or a Certificate of Monetary Donations or making the required statutory declaration to the Standards Commission, a person will be guilty of a further offence on every day on which the failure continues after such conviction and, for each such offence, the person will be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €126.97.

Where the offence relates to knowingly furnishing a Donation Statement, a statement of an institution or a Certificate of Monetary Donations to the Standards Commission which is false or misleading in any material respect, a person will be liable, on conviction on indictment, to a fine of up to €25,394.76 and/or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years.

Back to contents