Guidelines for the general election to the 30th Dáil

B. Requirements of a Third Party with regard to receipt of donations.

Registration

4.4   As soon as possible after the receipt by it of a donation the value of which exceeds €126.97 and before incurring any expenses for political purposes or, as the case may be, before incurring any further such expenses, a third party must furnish to the Standards Commission in writing:

1. the name and address of the third party and the name and address of the "responsible person", or each "responsible person", in relation to the third party (a "responsible person" is the person(s) responsible for the organisation, management or financial affairs of the third party),
2. a statement of the nature, purpose and estimated amount of the donations to, and proposed expenses of, the third party in any year, and
3. an indication of the third party's connection, if any, with any political party or candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European Parliament election or referendum or otherwise.

What is a donation?

4.5   A donation is defined in the legislation as meaning any contribution given for political purposes by any person, whether or not the person is a member of a political party.

There are a number of important words in this definition of a donation.

(a)  Donation

A donation includes:

1. a donation of money;
2. a donation of property or goods;
3. the free use of property or goods;
4. a free supply of services;
5. the difference between the commercial price and the (lower) price charged for property, goods or services;
6. a donation received by way of a contribution made to the net profit from a fund-raising event by a third party.  It should be noted that where an individual or a group organises a fundraising event for a candidate at an election and the individual/group retains control of the proceeds of the event (i.e. does not pass the proceeds to the candidate) the individual/group may be regarded as a third party.  This is explained in more detail in Appendix 2, as is the method of calculating the profit from a fund-raising event.  

(b)  Political purposes

The contribution must be given for political purposes.  The definition of political purposes is at Appendix 1.

(c)  Person

A person can be:

1. an individual;
2. a body corporate (and any subsidiary thereof), e.g. a public or private company;
3. an unincorporated body of persons, e.g. a political party, a partnership, a residents association, a lobby group.

Prohibited Donations

4.6   Acceptance of an anonymous donation exceeding a value of €126.97 is prohibited.  A donation is anonymous if a third party does not know the name and address of the donor.

4.7   If an anonymous donation is received by a third party, the Standards Commission must be notified by the third party within 14 days of its receipt.  Also, the donation, or its value, must be remitted by the third party to the Standards Commission.

4.8   A third party is also prohibited from accepting a donation, or donations, from a person in the same calendar year valued in excess of €6,348.69.  Where such a donation is received, the third party must notify the Standards Commission within 14 days and remit that donation, or that part of a monetary donation which is over the limit, to the Standards Commission.  As an alternative, the third party may return the donation, or that part of a monetary donation which is over the limit, to the donor and keep a written record of that return for the purpose of its being furnished to the Standards Commission, if required.

4.9   A third party is prohibited from accepting a donation from an individual (other than an Irish citizen) who resides outside the island of Ireland or from a company which does not keep an office in the island of Ireland from which the carrying on of one or more of its principle activities are directed.  This is known as a foreign donation.

4.10   Where a foreign donation is received, it must be notified by the third party to the Standards Commission within 14 days and must be remitted to the Standards Commission.  As an alternative, the third party may return the donation to the donor and keep a written record of that return for the purpose of its being furnished to the Standards Commission, if required.

4.11   Failure to notify, remit or return, as appropriate, a prohibited donation is an offence.

Opening of Political Donations Account

4.12   If a third party receives, in any particular calendar year, a monetary donation for political purposes, the value of which exceeds €126.97, it is required to open and maintain an account in a financial institution and lodge that donation and any further such monetary donations, of whatever value, received by the third party to that account.  It should be noted that a credit union is not regarded as a financial institution for the purposes of the legislation.

4.13   If a third party is already operating a political donations account, it is not necessary to open a new account specifically for the general election.  In such circumstances monetary donations, of whatever value, received in relation to the general election, must be lodged to the existing political donations account. 

Furnishing of Statutory Documentation in relation to political donations accounts

4.14   Where a third party has been required to open a political donations account, the responsible person of that third party will be required to furnish to the Standards Commission a Certificate of Monetary Donations and a statement from the financial institution where the account is held.  This documentation must be furnished by 31 March each year following the opening of the political donations account.  The Certificate of Monetary Donations must be signed by the responsible person stating that all monetary donations received after the account was opened were lodged to the account and that all amounts debited from the account were used for political purposes.  The Certificate must be accompanied by a Statutory Declaration.

4.15   The statement from the financial institution must specify the transactions that have taken place in relation to the account during the period beginning on the date of opening of the account up to the end of the calendar year, or the date of closing of the account if the third party ceases to exist. 

4.16   The staff of the Standards Commission Secretariat will be in contact with registered third parties at the beginning of the relevant calendar year and will provide the relevant Certificate of Monetary Donations and Statutory Declaration forms for completion.

4.17   Certificates of Monetary Donations and Statutory Declarations and their accompanying statements from financial institutions are retained by the Standards Commission and are not put on public display or otherwise disclosed, unless required by court order or an enquiry by the Standards Commission.

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