29/04/09 - Donations Disclosed by TDs, Senators and MEPs for 2008

Part 2 - Guidelines and advice

The Standards Commission has a statutory function under the Act to provide guidelines and advice to persons who are covered by the Act. In January 2008 the Standards Commission published revised guidelines on donations and prohibited donations for Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas and representatives in the European Parliament. The purpose of the guidelines is to ensure compliance with the Act. A person must act in accordance with guidelines or advice published or given by the Standards Commission unless, by so doing, he/she would be contravening another provision of the Act. A copy of the guidelines was sent to each TD, Senator and MEP in January 2008.

2.1 Advice regarding funding from European political groups

Prior to the referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon, the Standards Commission received a number of enquiries regarding the use by Irish MEPs and political parties of funding provided to them by the European parliament and by their political groups in the European Parliament for the purposes of funding a campaign in relation to the referendum. The Standards Commission received legal advice on the matter. Section 22(2)(b)(ii) of the Act provides that any payment, service or facility provided to a person out of monies provided by an institution of the European Union by virtue of the person being an MEP or a political group is not regarded as a donation. The Standards Commission was informed that political groups are funded by the European Parliament and only make funds available to an Irish MEP or political party which is a member of the political group. On the basis of this information, the Standards Commission was advised that, in accordance with section 22(2)(b)(ii) of the Act, such funding would not be regarded as a donation to an Irish MEP or political party. The Standards Commission advised each MEP and the appropriate officer of their political parties accordingly.

2.2 Definition of "subsidiary companies" for the purposes of the Electoral Acts

During 2008 the Standards Commission received a request for advice from a TD who had received donations from connected companies. The Deputy had been informed that the companies were not subsidiaries of each other. In view of the connection, however, between the companies the Deputy sought advice as to whether the companies should be regarded as the same donor for the purposes of the Act.

A donation is defined in section 22(2) of the Act as a contribution given for political purposes by any person. A person is defined in section 2 of the Act as including an individual, a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons. A body corporate and any of its subsidiaries are deemed to be the one person. The Act does not, however, provide a definition of a subsidiary of a body corporate. The Standards Commission was required to consider whether a definition of subsidiary which is provided in section 155 of the Companies Acts, should be applied to the Act or whether the ordinary meaning of the word should be applied. The Standards Commission sought legal advice on the matter and was advised that the word subsidiary as used in the definition of the term person in section 2 of the Act should be construed by reference to the definition given to that word by section 155 of the Companies Acts.

The Deputy was advised accordingly. The Standards Commission also wrote to each TD, Senator and MEP and to the appropriate officers of each political party informing them of the advice received by the Standards Commission and the meaning which should now be applied to the word subsidiary for the purposes of the Act. The Standards Commission also informed the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government of the advice it had received and suggested that a specific reference to section 155 of the Companies Act might be provided at section 2 of the Act.

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