Annual Report 2008

GRECO Evaluation of transparency of funding of political parties

Ireland became a member of GRECO (Council of Europe Groups of States Against Corruption) in May 1999. GRECO is responsible for monitoring observance of the Guiding Principles for the Fight against Corruption and implementation of the international legal instruments adopted in pursuit of the Programme of Action against Corruption. A key fundamental of the operation of GRECO is that its States accept the requirement to be subject to evaluation in relation to the putting in place of measures to combat corruption. At its 24th Plenary meeting, GRECO decided that one of the provisions to be evaluated in the framework of the third evaluation round of GRECO is the transparency of party funding.

The GRECO Third Evaluation Round is currently underway. A questionnaire on the transparency of party funding which GRECO has asked to be completed as a basis for its evaluation, has been issued by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform (the Criminal Law Division of that Department participates in GRECO) to the Standards Commission and a number of other Government Departments and State bodies. The Standards Commission has completed the questionnaire having regard to its supervisory role under the Electoral Acts and the Party Leaders Allowance legislation.

Article 11 of Recommendation (2003) 4 on Common Rules against Corruption and Funding of Political Parties and Electoral Campaigns provides that States should require political parties to keep proper books and accounts. Article 12 provides that States should require such accounts to specify all donations received by the party and to identify donations over a certain value. Article 13 provides that States should require political parties regularly, and at least annually, to make public such accounts, or as a minimum a summary of those accounts. Political parties are not required, under the Electoral Acts, to keep proper books and accounts or to make public their accounts. Neither are they required to specify all donations received by them. The Standards Commission has stated on a number of occasions that political parties should be required to adhere to Articles 11, 12 and 13 .

Following examination by GRECO of Ireland's response to the questionnaire, a team of evaluators will visit Ireland during 2009 to examine our legislation, practices and procedures. As part of this process the evaluators may meet with the Standards Commission. It is likely that Ireland's failure to adhere to Articles 11, 12 and 13 will be noted in the GRECO evaluation report on the transparency of party funding.

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