Dáil bye-elections 2009

1. Introduction

1. Guidelines for the Dublin Central and Dublin South bye-elections have been published by the Standards in Public Office Commission under section 4 of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended (the Act). The other relevant Acts of the Oireachtas are the Electoral (Amendment) Acts, 1998, 2001, 2002, (No. 2) and 2004. In these guidelines a reference to a section of the Act should be read as including any amendment(s) to that section.

2. The Guidelines cover the main requirements of the above legislation relating to:

• disclosure of political donations;
• limits on the value of donations which may be accepted;
• prohibited donations;
• limits on election spending;
• reimbursement of election expenses to qualified candidates.

3. The Standards Commission was established in December 2001 by the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. The members of the Standards Commission are:

• The Hon. Mr. Justice M. P. Smith, former Judge of the High Court, Chairman of the Standards Commission,
• Mr John Buckley, Comptroller and Auditor General,
• Ms Emily O'Reilly, Ombudsman,
• Mr Kieran Coughlan, Clerk of Dáil Éireann,
• Ms Deirdre Lane, Clerk of Seanad Éireann, and
• Mr Michael Smith, former member of Dáil Éireann.

The Standards Commission has a permanent Secretariat which is located at 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2.

4. Under the legislation, there are three main categories of persons who have duties and obligations at the election. These are:

1. candidates;
2. lection agents of candidates; and
3. national agents of political parties.

The Act also imposes obligations on publishers of newspapers and magazines, etc., on "third parties" receiving political donations and on "other persons" who incur expenditure in promoting or opposing a political party or a candidate at the election.

5. The legislation is quite technical and complex. The Standards Commission is required to publish guidelines and give advice on how it works in practice. The Act requires that a person must act in accordance with guidelines or advice published or given by the Standards Commission unless, by so doing, he/she would be contravening another provision of the Act. Advice is given either in writing, including by e-mail, or by responding to telephone enquiries. Staff of the Standards Commission may wish to meet with candidates and their election agents to ensure that they are familiar with the requirements of the legislation.

6. If a person is in any doubt about any aspect of the legislation, he/she or she should contact the Standards Commission Secretariat. The Standards Commission recommends that advice should be sought immediately if a matter arises about which there is uncertainty. By doing so, it is less likely that the issue will cause a difficulty later. The Standards Commission Secretariat will be available before, during and after the election to help resolve any difficulties that may arise.

7. The Standards Commission Secretariat can be contacted at the telephone numbers listed on the inside cover page. Staff mobile numbers have been included in order that they may be contacted outside normal office hours to answer any urgent queries. Please use this outside hours facility sparingly.

8. The Standards Commission will monitor election spending. This may include visits to the constituencies, collecting samples of election material, recording details of advertisements in newspapers and periodicals, etc.

9. The Guidelines are divided into four chapters which set out the requirements relating to each category of person. The Standards Commission recommends that all parts of the Guidelines should be read by each person who has duties and obligations under the legislation, or who is otherwise involved in the election. The Guidelines have been written in the clearest possible terms to assist understanding.

10. Failure to comply with certain provisions of the Act is a criminal offence. The most serious offence (knowingly furnishing a false or misleading Donation Statement or Election Expenses Statement) is punishable by a fine of up to €25,394.76 and/or imprisonment for up to 3 years.

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