09/06/09 - Donation Statements furnished by Political Parties for 2008

Part 4 - Receipt of Donation Statements and Certificates of Monetary Donations

In accordance with section 24(1)(b) of the Act, the Standards Commission produced a Donation Statement/Statutory Declaration form (08/PP/DS) and a Certificate of Monetary Donations/Statutory Declaration form (08/PP/CMD) for use in respect of the 2008 calendar year. These forms were sent to the appropriate officer of each of the fourteen registered political parties on 5 March 2009, for return by the statutory deadline of 31 March 2009.

A political party whose political donations account was not active during 2008 was required only to state this on the Certificate of Monetary Donations/Statutory Declaration form and was not required to complete the Statutory Declaration or to forward a copy of a bank statement in respect of 2008. Table 2 shows the dates on which the Standards Commission received the statutory documentation from each political party.

Table 2 Dates on which the statutory documents were received

The appropriate officers of seven political parties furnished their statutory documentation within the statutory deadline. The appropriate officers of The Labour Party, The Socialist Workers Party, The Communist Party, The Workers Party, South Kerry Independent Alliance and Christian Solidarity were each issued a reminder letter on 20 April 2009. A second reminder letter issued to the appropriate officers of The Socialist Workers Party, The Communist Party, The Workers Party, South Kerry Independent Alliance and Christian Solidarity on 27 April 2009. Each reminder referred to the offence under section 25(1)(c) of the Act for failure to furnish a Donation Statement and where required to, a Certificate of Monetary Donations and bank statement by the statutory deadline. A final reminder issued by registered post on 6 May 2009 to the appropriate officers of The Socialists Workers Party, The Communist Party and The Workers Party. This letter informed the parties concerned that if the relevant return was not received within 7 days the Standards Commission would consider referring the matter to the Gardaí. A file in relation to the appropriate officer of The Communist Party was in the process of being prepared when his Donation Statement and Certificate of Monetary Donation was received.

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