Annual Report 2006

Third Parties

A "third party" is defined in section 22(2)(aa) of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended, as any person, other than a political party or a candidate at an election, who accepts, in a particular year, a donation (i.e. a contribution given for political purposes) the value of which exceeds €126.97.

Section 23C of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended, provides that on receipt of a donation exceeding €126.97 in value, a third party must, before incurring any expenses for political purposes, register with the Standards Commission. Third parties are prohibited from accepting anonymous donations exceeding €126.97 in value and are prohibited from accepting "foreign donations". The maximum donation which a third party may accept from the same person in the same calendar year is €6,348.69.

As is its normal practice, the Standards Commission published a notice in 2006 in the national press setting out the requirements of the legislation attaching to third parties. In conjunction with this notice the Standards Commission produced a more detailed explanatory note on the requirements of the Act. The explanatory note was made available to any potential third party which contacted the Standards Commission and was also published on the website of the Standards Commission.

The Standards Commission also contacts potential third parties directly. In some cases potential third parties are notified to the Standards Commission by members of the public. In most cases, however, potential third parties come to the attention of the Standards Commission from media reports of their activities or from awareness of publicity campaigns in which they are engaged. When a potential third party comes to its attention, the Standards Commission contacts the individual or organisation and provides a copy of the explanatory note published by the Standards Commission. The onus is then on the individual or organisation to decide whether or not to register as a third party. During 2006, the Standards Commission wrote to a number of individuals/organisations which it considered might be potential third parties. One of these organisations, Pro-Life Campaign, registered as a third party during 2006. The Standards Commission is still corresponding with some of the organisations it contacted in 2006 and which have yet to confirm whether they are required to register as a third party.

If a third party receives a monetary donation in excess of €126.97, it is required under section 23B(1) of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended, to open and maintain a political donations account in a financial institution in the State and lodge the donation and any subsequent monetary donations to the account. Monies from the political donations account may only be used for political purposes. Section 23B(5) of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended, requires the responsible person of a third party (i.e. the person responsible for the organisation, management or financial affairs of the third party), which is required to open a political donations account, to furnish statutory documentation in relation to the account to the Standards Commission every year.

The requirement to furnish such material every year assumes that individuals or organisations registered as third parties remain in existence as third parties. In practice, the vast majority of third parties which have registered with the Standards Commission have done so in relation to a particular campaign and their "political" involvement did not extend beyond the particular campaign for which they registered. To ensure that it is not pursuing third parties which are no longer in existence or which are no longer active, the Standards Commission writes each year to registered third parties asking them to confirm whether or not they intend to continue in existence as a third party. If the third party informs the Standards Commission that it is no longer a third party, no further contact is made with that individual or organisation unless, through further activity or campaigning, the individual or organisation comes to the attention of the Standards Commission again.

The Standards Commission also recognises that the political donations accounts of some third parties might not have been active in a particular year. Each year the Standards Commission writes to the responsible persons of those third parties which are still registered or which have registered with it during the preceding year and encloses a Certificate of Monetary Donations form for completion. The responsible person is asked to confirm if there was any activity on the political donations account during the preceding year. If there has been activity on the account, the responsible person is required to complete the Certificate of Monetary Donations in full and provide a copy of a bank statement in respect of the preceding year. If there has not been any activity on the political donations account in the preceding year the responsible person is required only to confirm in writing that this is the case and is not required to complete the Certificate of Monetary Donations form in full or to provide a bank statement.

In early 2006, the Standards Commission wrote to seven registered third parties. Four registered third parties informed the Standards Commission that they intended to continue in existence as a third party during 2006. Two third parties confirmed in writing to the Standards Commission that there had been no activity on their political donations account during 2005 while three third parties provided a bank statement and Certificate of Monetary Donations in respect of their political donations account for 2005.

The Standards Commission has experienced a number of difficulties supervising some of the provisions of the Electoral Acts relating to third parties. Most of these difficulties were highlighted in a Review of the Electoral Acts which the Standards Commission prepared at the request of the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. Martin Cullen TD and which was published in December 2003. Some of these difficulties were also referred to in the Annual Report of the Standards Commission for 2005. During 2006 the Standards Commission wrote to the current Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr Dick Roche TD, to enquire if there were any proposals to amend the provisions of the legislation applying to third parties in the near future. The Minister informed the Standards Commission that " ... while electoral law is under ongoing review ... it is unlikely that legislative proposals of this nature could be developed and taken forward in the timeframe to which you refer". The Minister also stated that any substantial amendments to the Acts should not be on " ... a piecemeal basis ..." and should be done " ... in a comprehensive way and the work progressed in consultation with the various interests involved and on a consensus basis ..."

The Standards Commission, having regard to the Minister's response, decided that it should furnish a report on third parties to the Chairman of Dáil Éireann. The purpose of the report will be to inform the Houses of the Oireachtas of the Standards Commission's supervision of the provisions of the Act concerning third parties and to highlight some of the difficulties which the Standards Commission has encountered in supervising these provisions. The report will also air some of the concerns which have been expressed by voluntary and other groups whose activities have been captured by the legislation. While conscious that it is a matter for the Oireachtas to determine the nature and content of legislation, the Standards Commission considered it appropriate that as the body with experience of supervising the legislation, its report might also offer some suggestions as to how the legislation might be improved.

The report will also contain details of the various individuals or organisations which the Standards Commission had contacted as potential third parties and the result of these contacts. The report will be published later in 2007.

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