Annual Report 2008

Proposed amendment to the Party Leaders Allowance legislation

In its annual report for 2007, the Standards Commission highlighted a difficulty with regard to giving advice to political parties in relation to the use of the Allowance. Whereas advice given by the Standards Commission under the Ethics Acts and the Electoral Acts is legally binding, advice given in relation to the Party Leaders Allowance has no legal basis.

In its report to the Minister for Finance concerning expenditure of the Allowance by qualified political parties in 2007, the Standards Commission made a recommendation that either the Standards Commission or the Minister for Finance should be able to publish guidelines or give advice on the appropriate use of the Allowance and for such guidelines and advice to be legally binding on the persons to whom they apply. The Standards Commission recommended that any such guidelines would be prepared in consultation with the parliamentary leaders of qualified political parties. In considering such a provision the Standards Commission recommended that the Minister might have regard to the provisions of section 25 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and section 4(6) of the Electoral Act 1997.

Back to contents