Appropriate Officers

The Electoral Act 1997, as amended, (the Act) provides, in Section 71, that each political party must appoint an Appropriate Officer. The Appropriate Officer is required to carry out a number of functions under the Electoral Acts as follows:

• The Appropriate Officer is responsible for furnishing the party's annual Donation Statement to the Standards Commission.
• Where the party is one which is qualified to receive State financing under the Electoral Acts, the Appropriate Officer is responsible for furnishing the Statement of Expenditure of Exchequer Funding and accompanying auditor's report to the Standards Commission.
• The Appropriate Officer must notify the Standards Commission on an annual basis of details of any of the party's branches or subsidiary organisations which are Accounting Units for the purposes of the Electoral Acts and provide details of the responsible person of each such Accounting Unit. (See separate page relating to Accounting Units and "responsible persons").

The name and address of the party's Appropriate Officer must be notified to the Standards Commission. If the party is one which is qualified to receive State financing under the Electoral Acts, the Appropriate Officer's details must also be notified to the Minister for Finance.

Where, at any time, no Appropriate Officer stands appointed, the leader of the party is deemed to be its Appropriate Officer.

Where a political party has candidates contesting a Dáil or European Parliament election, it is required, in accordance with the provisions of section 28(1)(a) of the Electoral Acts, to appoint a "national agent" (see separate page regarding the obligations attaching to national agent's under the Act). If a national agent has not been appointed, the Appropriate Officer is deemed to be the party's national agent and is responsible for incurring election expenses on the party's behalf at the election. The Appropriate Officer, as national agent, is required to furnish an Election Expenses Statement to the Standards Commission.

The following documents provide further information regarding the obligations which may apply to Appropriate Officers under the Electoral Acts:

• Guidelines for Political Parties on the steps to be taken concerning donations and prohibited donations.
• Guidelines for political parties on Exchequer Funding under the Electoral Act, 1997.
• Guidelines for the general election to the 30th Dáil