Guidelines for the general election to the 30th Dáil

C. Spending by the national agent

3.10   The national agent is the only person who can incur expenditure or make payments on behalf of the party out of the spending limit assigned to it by its candidates.  It should be understood that no separate or additional spending on a candidate at individual level by a political party over and above the limits is allowed.  Where expenses have been incurred by or on behalf of a political party before the appointment of a national agent, the party must furnish details of all such expenses, together with all relevant vouchers, to the national agent. 

3.11   The national agent can authorise other persons to incur expenditure or make payments within specific limits set by the national agent.  The national agent must account for spending by all such authorised persons.

3.12   Spending by the national agent out of the amount assigned to the party by its candidates can be either on a candidate or at national level. 

3.13   Spending on a candidate is spending which identifies and promotes a candidate(s) in a constituency.  This includes the party's 'team' in a constituency (i.e. candidate and running mate(s)).   Where election materials (e.g. posters, billboards) feature a party's leader and its candidates, the expenditure will be deemed to have been incurred on the candidates concerned and not the party leader.  (The party leader is the only person who may appear in a poster, billboard etc. and not have the expenses regarded as having been incurrred on his/her candidacy.)  Spending by the national agent on a particular candidate cannot exceed the amount assigned to the party by the candidate.

3.14   If the national agent decides to incur expenditure on a candidate, great care must be taken to ensure that the total spend on the candidate by his/her election agent and by the national agent does not exceed the statutory limit for that candidate.  (The statutory spending limits are €30,150 in a three-seat constituency, €37,650 in a four-seat constituency and €45,200 in a five-seat constituency).

3.15   The national agent cannot incur expenditure or make payments out of the amount of the spending limit retained by the candidate unless the national agent is authorised to do so by the candidate's election agent.  In this situation expenditure by the national agent would be as an authorised person of the election agent and would have to be accounted for by the election agent.

3.16   No part of a candidate's spending limit can be transferred from one candidate to another in a constituency.

3.17   National spending is spending which by its content and geographic extent is clearly aimed at attracting votes in the country as a whole.  It is not directly related to the promotion of a candidate, or a number of candidates, in a constituency.  Reference should be to the party, its leadership, its policies or election issues in a national context.  It should be reasonably evenly spread throughout the country having regard to the extent to which advertising media are available.  Such spending is usually on items like the party manifesto, party political broadcasts, tours by the party leader, etc.  Where party political broadcasts feature members of the party leadership or party spokespersons, the expenses incurred will be regarded as national spending and will not be regarded as having been incurred on the individual candidates.  Where a candidate who is not a party spokesperson and who is not part of the party leadership appears in a party political broadcast, this will not be regarded as national spending and an appropriate portion of the cost of the broadcast will be regarded as expenditure incurred on the candidate's behalf.

3.18   Where the national agent of a political party proposes to incur election expenses which include an endorsement which solicits votes for another political party, the endorsement is regarded as expenditure incurred on behalf of the second party.  A proportion of the cost of the materials, which should be calculated on the basis of the extent to which the second party is featured, must be met from the second party's expenditure limit and must be authorised and accounted for by the national agent of the second party.

Where expenditure is incurred by the national agent of a political party on materials which include an endorsement which solicits votes for a candidate or candidates of another political party, the endorsement is regarded as expenditure incurred on the candidate's behalf.  A proportion of the cost of the materials, which should be calculated on the basis of the extent to which the candidate is featured must be met from the expenditure limit of the candidate or the expenditure limit of his/her political party.  The expenditure must be authorised by the candidate's election agent or the national agent of his/her political party.

Where either of the above type of cross-canvassing is likely to take place, it is strongly recommended that relevant agreements and authorisations are put in place beforehand to cover the likely costs of the expenditure.

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