Guidelines for the general election to the 30th Dáil

Introduction

1.  These guidelines for the general election to the 30th Dáil have been published by the Standards in Public Office Commission (the Standards Commission) in accordance with section 4(6)(a) of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended (the Act).

2.  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 Matthew P. Smith, former Judge of the High Court, Chairman,
Mr John Purcell, 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 Liam Kavanagh, a former member of Dáil Éireann. 

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

3.  The Act has been amended a number of times.  The most significant amendments were contained in the 1998 and 2001 Electoral (Amendment) Acts.  In these guidelines a reference to a section of the Act should be read as including any amendment(s) to that section.  As provided for under section 3(1) of the Act, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government made an order on 14 March 2007 (The Electoral Act 1997 (Limitation and Reimbursement of Election Expenses at Dáil Election) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 113 of 2007) providing for increases, in line with the Consumer Price Index, to the statutory spending limits for candidates and to the maximum amount which may be reimbursed to qualified candidates. 

4.  The legislation is quite technical and complex; every effort has been made to make these guidelines as clear as possible.  The guidelines cover the main requirements of the Act relating to the acceptance and disclosure of political donations and the limitation, disclosure and reimbursement of election expenses.

5.  Under the Act, there are three main categories of persons who have duties and obligations at the election.  These are

• candidates
• election agents of candidates
• national agents of political parties. 

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

The guidelines are divided into four chapters which set out the requirements attaching 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. 

6.  The Standards Commission is required to publish guidelines and give advice on how the Act works in practice.  The purpose of the guidelines, as provided for in section 4(6)(a) of the Act, is to ensure compliance with the Act and a person must act in accordance with guidelines or advice published or given by the Standards Commission unless, by so doing, they would be contravening another provision of the Act.  Advice is given either in writing, including by email, or by responding to telephone enquiries.  The advice function also involves staff of the Standards Commission Secretariat participating in briefing sessions throughout the country which are attended by candidates, agents and other persons who are involved in the election such as directors of elections, local party activists, etc. 

7.  If a person is in any doubt about any aspect of the legislation, he or she should contact a member of staff of 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 staff of the Standards Commission Secretariat will be available before, during, and after the election to help resolve any difficulties that may arise.

8.  The staff of the Standards Commission Secretariat can be contacted at the phone numbers listed on the inside cover page.

9.  The Standards Commission will monitor election spending in a number of ways, including visits to constituencies, inspecting campaign premises, collecting samples of election material, recording details of advertisements in newspapers and periodicals, etc.  The Standards Commission is empowered under section 4(4) of the Act to make such inquiries as it considers appropriate and to require any person to furnish any information, document or thing in the possession or procurement of the person which the Standards Commission may require for the purpose of its duties under the Act.  Moreover the Act provides in section 36(2A) that the Standards Commission may request information (including additional or supplemental information) in relation to an Election Expenses Statement and may require that such information be accompanied by a statutory declaration.

10.  Failure to comply with certain provisions of the Act is a criminal offence.  The most serious offence is to knowingly furnish a false or misleading Donation Statement or Election Expenses Statement.  This is punishable by a fine of up to €25,394.76 and/or imprisonment for up to 3 years.  It should also be noted that it is an offence for an election agent or national agent to fail to make such enquiries and maintain such records as are necessary for the purposes of furnishing an Election Expenses Statement.  It is also an offence for a candidate to fail to provide an election agent with details of election expenses incurred before his/her appointment as election agent.

11.  The Guidelines reflect the legal position as it applies at the time of going to print, i.e. March 2007.  The Standards Commission may also issue further guidelines to candidates, election agents and national agents on specific issues which may arise during the course of the election.

12.  Tá leagan Gaeilge de na treoirlínte seo ar fáil.

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