Report re spending at Dáil General Election of 2002 (Text)

Chapter 1 Introduction

This report is being furnished to the Chairman of Dáil Éireann (Ceann Comhairle) pursuant to the provisions of section 4(1) of the Electoral Act, 1997 (the 1997 Act).

The report deals with expenditure on behalf of candidates, political parties and other persons at the Dáil general election of 2002 and the reimbursement of election expenses to qualified candidates.

For the purpose of the report,

• the 1997 Act,
• the Electoral (Amendment) Acts, 1998, 2001, 2002 and
• the Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2002

are referred to collectively as the Electoral Acts.

The 28th Dáil was dissolved on 25 April 2002. Polling for the general election to the 29th Dáil took place on 17 May 2002. This was the second Dáil general election to have taken place since the introduction of the 1997 Act. It was, however, the first Dáil general election to which the full provisions of the Electoral Acts, relating to the disclosure and limitation of donations and the limitation, disclosure and reimbursement of election expenses, applied.

In accordance with the provisions of Part IV of the Electoral Acts, unsuccessful candidates at the Dáil general election were required, within 56 days after polling day (i.e. by 12 July 2002), to furnish to the Standards in Public Office Commission (the Standards Commission) a Donation Statement, and accompanying documentation, giving details of all donations, with a value greater than €634.87, received by them in relation to the election. The Standards Commission furnished a report to the Ceann Comhairle on 31 October 2002 regarding Donation Statements and accompanying documentation received from unsuccessful candidates at the Dáil general election.

Successful candidates at the election are required, as members of Dáil Éireann, to furnish to the Standards Commission, by 31 January each year, an annual Donation Statement and accompanying documentation. The Donation Statements furnished to the Standards Commission in respect of 2002 by members of Dáil Éireann included details of any donations received by them during 2002 in relation to the Dáil general election. The Standards Commission furnished a report to the Ceann Comhairle on 30 April 2003 concerning Donation Statements furnished, in respect of 2002, by members of the Houses of the Oireachtas and representatives in the European Parliament.

The Electoral Acts also provide that the election agent of each candidate (successful and unsuccessful) at a Dáil election is required to furnish an Election Expenses Statement to the Standards Commission within 56 days after polling day. The Election Expenses Statement must include details of all expenses incurred and payments made by the election agent on behalf of the candidate at the election. An Election Expenses Statement is also required from the national agent of each political party with candidates contesting the election.

As a result of the State's appeal to the Supreme Court in the case of Desmond Kelly and the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Ireland and the Attorney General (the Kelly case - see Chapter 7 below), the date by which Election Expenses Statements for the Dáil general election were required to be furnished to the Standards Commission was extended. The Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2002 provided that the date for furnishing Election Expenses Statements would be 31 October 2002, or 21 days following the date of the Supreme Court judgment in the Kelly case, whichever was the later. The judgment was delivered on 29 November 2002. Accordingly, the date by which Election Expenses Statements were required to be furnished to the Standards Commission was 20 December 2002.

In addition to reporting on the information contained in the Election Expenses Statements, the Standards Commission will be commenting in this report on issues which impacted on its supervision of spending at the Dáil general election, in particular:

• the definition of the election period,
• amendments to the legislation introduced by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001 and
• the further implications of the Kelly case.

Back to contents