19/12/08 - Report on expenditure of the Party Leaders Allowance (2007)

Part 2 - Statements of Expenditure furnished by the Party Leaders

2.1 Background

Section 1.10(11) of the Act provides that parliamentary party leaders must prepare, or cause to be prepared, not more than 120 days after the end of the financial year in which an allowance has been paid, a statement of any expenditure from the allowance. The statement must be audited by a public auditor and must be submitted with the auditor's report to the Standards Commission within this 120 day period. Section 1.10(12)(a) of the Act provides that an allowance shall not be paid unless the statement and auditor's report have been received by the Standards Commission not more than 120 days after the end of the financial year to which the statement and auditor's report relate.

2.2 The Standards Commission wrote to the parliamentary leaders of the seven qualifying parties on 3 March 2008 and enclosed a form (Statement of Expenditure of Party Leaders Allowance form (07/PLA/EFS)) for completion and return to the Standards Commission by 31 March 2008. (This date is not specified in the legislation. However, having regard to the statutory deadline of 29 April 2008, the return date of 31 March was chosen to ensure that parliamentary leaders would have sufficient time to furnish their statements in advance of the statutory deadline.) The letter informed the parliamentary leaders that they must provide details, under the relevant headings on the form, of the specific items to which the expenditure was applied and that the form must be accompanied by an auditor's report.

2.3 The parliamentary leaders to whom the Standards Commission wrote were:

• Mr Bertie Ahern TD, Fianna Fáil
• Mr Enda Kenny TD, Fine Gael
• Mr Eamonn Gilmore TD, Labour Party
• Ms Mary Harney TD, Progressive Democrats
• Mr John Gormley TD, Green Party
• Mr Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD, Sinn Féin
• Mr Joe Higgins, Socialist Party.

2.4 In relation to the Labour Party, the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats where there had been a change of parliamentary party leader during 2007, section 1.10(11)(b) and (c) of the Act, provides that where a person who is the parliamentary leader of a qualifying party ceases to be the parliamentary leader of the party he/she shall prepare or cause to be prepared a statement of any expenditure from that allowance. In other words, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, Deputy Trevor Sargent and Mr Michael McDowell were each responsible for furnishing a statement of expenditure in respect of the period in 2007 during which they were parliamentary leaders respectively of the Labour Party, the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats. This provision does not apply, however, if the previous parliamentary party leader and the current parliamentary leader agree in writing that expenditure from the annual allowance paid to the previous leader during 2007 shall be included in the statement of expenditure furnished by the current leader.

2.5 The Standards Commission wrote to Deputies Rabbitte and Sargent and to Mr McDowell on 18 March 2008 advising them of these requirements. A Statement of Expenditure of Party Leaders Allowance form (07/PLA/EFS) was enclosed should they wish to complete one. A single Statement of Expenditure was completed by Deputy Gilmore (incorporating expenditure from the allowance paid to Deputy Rabbitte), by Minister Gormley (incorporating expenditure from the allowance paid to Deputy Sargent) and by Minister Harney (incorporating expenditure from the allowance paid to Mr McDowell). The required letters of agreement from Deputies Rabbitte and Sargent and from Mr McDowell were also provided.

2.6 A Statement of Expenditure/Public Auditor's Report was received by the Standards Commission from five of the parliamentary leaders of the seven qualifying parties within the specified period (i.e., by 29 April 2008). Statements of Expenditure/Public Auditor's Report were not received from the parliamentary leaders of the Progressive Democrats, Minister Mary Harney TD or the Socialist Party, Mr Joe Higgins by 29 April 2008. The Department of Finance was informed of this fact on 2 May 2008. The Progressive Democrats' Statement of Expenditure/Public Auditor's Report was subsequently received on 13 June 2008 and the Department of Finance was made aware of this on the same day. The Socialist Party Statement of Expenditure/Public Auditor's Report was eventually received on 30 June 2008.

2.7 Section 1.10(11)(e) of the Act provides that the Standards Commission must consider each statement and auditor's report furnished to it and, if necessary, consult with the parliamentary leader on any matter contained in the statement. The Standards Commission considered it appropriate to write to Fine Gael, the Green Party and to the Progressive Democrats seeking further information regarding items of expenditure contained on their Statements.

2.8 Parliamentary party leaders are required to state on their Statement of Expenditure of the Party Leaders Allowance if the allowance has been used for electoral purposes. Each of the parliamentary party leaders has stated that the allowance was not used for electoral purposes.

2.9 The Standards Commission must furnish a report to the Minister for Finance on the statements and auditors' reports received indicating:

1. whether the statements and auditors' reports have been submitted within the specified period,
2. whether any expenditure is disclosed which does not comply with subsection 1(10)(5) of the Act,
3. whether the statements are adequate, or
4. whether the statements are inappropriate.

2.10 The Standards Commission, having considered the Statements of Expenditure/Public Auditors' Reports, is now satisfied that:

1. the Statements of Expenditure were not received from the parliamentary leaders of the Progressive Democrats or from the leader of the Socialist Party within the specified period;
2. the Statements of Expenditure do not disclose any expenditure which does not comply with section 1.10(5) of the Act;
3. the Statements of Expenditure are adequate; and
4. the Statements of Expenditure are not inappropriate.

2.11 The Standards Commission is required to lay a copy of its report to the Minister for Finance before each House of the Oireachtas. A copy of the statements and auditors' reports received must be retained by the Standards Commission for three years and be made available for public inspection and copying. The Statements of Expenditure/Public Auditors' Reports furnished to the Standards Commission may be inspected and copied by members of the public at the offices of the Standards Commission, 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2. The information will also be available, in summary form, on the website of the Standards Commission www.sipo.gov.ie.

2.12 Details of the allowances paid to the parliamentary leaders are shown in Table 1:

Table 1 - Details of funding available to Parliamentary Leaders of Qualified Political Parties under the Party Leaders Allowance during 2007

* Where funding in respect of a particular year is not spent in that year, it must be accounted for in the statement(s) for the year in which it is actually spent.
** The amount included on the PD statement for 2006 as carried forward for 2007 was €277,635. This was subsequently reviewed by the party. See PD statement for 2007.

Table 2 shows the breakdown given by each political party of expenditure of the allowance during 2007.

Table Breakdown:

*The amount accounted for by the Socialist Party is €90 more than funding available to the party in 2007. Given the amount involved the Standards Commission did not request the parliamentary party leader to amend his statement. 

Categories of expenditure

(a) the general administration of the parliamentary activities of a qualifying party,

(b) the provision of technical or specialist advice likely to be required in connection with legislative proposals or potential parliamentary initiatives,

(c) research and training,

(d) policy formulation,

(e) the provision of consultant services, including the engagement of public relations services,

(f) polling or public attitude sampling in connection with parliamentary debates or initiatives,

(g) the purchase of support services for a parliamentary party from the party,

(h) the payment to a parliamentary leader of any salary or honorarium in respect of duties arising from his or her activities as such leader as distinct from those of a member of Dáil Éireann or a holder of a Ministerial office,

(i) the payment to another person of any salary or honorarium in respect of duties arising from the person's activities in a parliamentary party,

(j) the provision for, or recoupment of, transport and personal expenditure incurred by a parliamentary leader, officers or a parliamentary party spokesperson as a result of their parliamentary party function,

(k) entertainment.

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