Donations Disclosed by TDs, Senators and MEPs for 2007

5. Prohibited Donations

a) Anonymous donations

Section 23(1) of the Act provides that a TD, Senator, MEP or candidate at an election must not accept, either directly or indirectly, an anonymous donation valued in excess of €126.97.  If such a donation is received, the donation (or its equivalent value) is required to be notified and remitted to the Standards Commission not later than 14 days after its receipt.

When submitting his Donation Statement for 2007 Deputy Richard Bruton informed the Standards Commission that during his Dáil election campaign he had received a cheque for €2,500.  No covering letter had accompanied the cheque.  While the person's name was on the cheque, Deputy Bruton had been unable to establish the donor's address. Deputy Bruton informed the Standards Commisision that the cheque had not been cashed and had been allowed to pass its expiry date.  It had been given to the treasurer of the local Fine Gael branch for safe-keeping.  The Standards Commission advised Deputy Bruton that as the donor's address could not be established, the donation constituted a prohibited anonymous donation and as such would have to be remitted to the Standards Commission in accordance with section 23(2) of the Act.

Section 23(2) of the Act provides that a prohibited anonymous donation should be remitted to the Standards Commission within 14 days of its receipt.  It is an offence under section 25(1)(b) of the Act to fail to comply with this requirement.  However, as Deputy Bruton had not cashed the cheque and had otherwise complied with the Act by remitting the cheque, the Standards Commission took no further action in relation to this matter.

Section 23(3) of the Act provides that the Standards Commission shall dispose of a remitted anonymous donation in the manner directed by the Minister for Finance.  The Standards Commission notified the Minister for Finance on 20 February of receipt of the anonymous donation from Deputy Bruton and forwarded the cheque to the Dept. of Finance for disposal.  The cheque was, however, returned to the Standards Commission on 27 February and directions subsequently received from the Dept. of Finance to dispose of the cheque as follows:

• To return the cheque to the donor with a covering letter explaining the legal reasons for its return.
• As the donor's address is unknown, to send the cheque and explanatory letter c/o the branch of the bank on which the cheque is drawn (these details were on the cheque) in a sealed envelope together with a request to the bank that it pass the letter on, unopened, to the account holder.
• To protect confidentiality, provide only the name and account details to the bank.  The payee details or the cheque amount were not provided to the bank.

The Standards Commission disposed of the anonymous donation on 14 March 2008 as directed by the Dept. of Finance.  In accordance with section 23(3) of the Act, notification of the receipt of the anonymous donation is being laid before before the Houses of the Oireachtas today.

b) Donations in excess of the maximum prescribed limit

Section 23A(1) of the Act provides that the maximum value of donations which a TD, Senator, MEP or candidate may accept from the same person in the same calendar year is €2,539.48.  Where a donation is received which is prohibited because its value is over the limit, a TD, Senator, MEP or candidate must notify the Standards Commission within 14 days and remit the donation, or that part of a monetary donation which is over the limit, to the Standards Commission.  As an alternative, a TD, Senator, MEP or candidate may, within 14 days, 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 it being furnished to the Standards Commission, if required.

The Act provides that the maximum prescribed limit of €2,539.48 does not apply to the donation of a constituency office to a TD, Senator or MEP.  Where more than one such office is donated to a TD, Senator or MEP, he/she may nominate in writing which one of the offices will not be subject to the maximum limit of €2,539.48.  The maximum acceptance limit does, however, apply to donations of money given to a TD, Senator, MEP or candidate by his/her political party.

The following TDs, Senators, MEPs or former Members disclosed donations or otherwise informed the Standards Commission of the receipt of donations which were in excess of the maximum prescribed limit:

Senator Paudie Coffey (FG)
John Deasy TD (FG)
Darragh O'Brien TD (FF)
Noel O'Flynn TD (FF)
Ned O'Keeffe TD (FF)
Jim O'Keeffe TD (FG)
John O'Mahony TD (FG)
Tom Sheahan TD (FG)

In most cases it was evident that the excess donation had not been returned within the required 14 days.  By failing to do so, the persons concerned had contravened section 23A(1) of the Act and may have committed an offence under section 25(1)(b) of the Act.  However, where a person otherwise complies with the legislation, i.e. by returning the excess donation, it is the practice of the Standards Commission not to take any further action in terms of referring the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).  In each of the above cases the person confirmed to the Standards Commission that the excess donation had been returned and provided evidence of its return.  The Standards Commission did not, therefore, refer any of the above contraventions to the DPP.

c) Foreign Donations

Section 23A(2) of the Act provides that a TD, Senator or MEP must not accept a donation of any value from:

• an individual (other than an Irish citizen) who resides outside the island of Ireland, or
• a body corporate or unincorporated body of persons which does not keep an office in the island of Ireland from which one or more of its principal activities is directed.

Where a donation is received which is prohibited because it is a foreign donation, a TD, Senator or MEP must notify the Standards Commission within 14 days and must remit the donation (or the value thereof) to the Standards Commission.  As an alternative, a TD, Senator or MEP may, within 14 days, return the donation to the donor and keep a written record of that return for the purpose of it being furnished to the Standards Commission, if required.

A number of the Donations received disclosed donations from persons who were not resident in the island of Ireland.  In each case it was confirmed to the Standards Commission that the donor in question was an Irish citizen.

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