Guidelines for the general election to the 30th Dáil

B. Assignment of a portion of a candidate's statutory spending limit to his/her political party (if contesting the election as a party candidate)

1.8 If a candidate is contesting the election on behalf of a political party he/she must agree, in writing, with the party the amount of the candidate's spending limit which the candidate is assigning to the party. The candidate is not legally required to make any assignment to the party. If, however, an assignment is made by a candidate to the party, the spending limit of the candidate's own election agent is reduced by that amount. The national agent of the candidate's political party can, out of the amount which has been assigned by the candidate to the party, incur expenses or make payments on behalf of the candidate or on the party's national campaign. Under no circumstances can total spending on a candidate exceed the statutory spending limit for the candidate. The role of the national agent is described in more detail in Chapter 3.

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1.9 The legislation does not specify when the agreed assignment between the candidate and the political party should be made. Similarly, the legislation does not preclude a renegotiation of the agreed assignment. The Standards Commission strongly advises, however, that the agreed assignment should be finalised before any expenses are incurred by either the candidate's election agent or the party's national agent.

1.10 The legislation does require that the amount assigned to a political party must be agreed in writing between the candidate and the party. The written agreement, therefore, should clearly state the amount assigned to the party and should be signed by the candidate and the appropriate party official. Where assignments are renegotiated, a new written agreement must be made. A copy of the written agreement should be given to the candidate's election agent. The election agent will be required to furnish a copy of the written agreement with his/her Election Expenses Statement.

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