21/06/07 - Report on expenditure of the Party Leaders Allowance (2006)

Part 4 - Furnishing by Parliamentary Party Leaders of Statements of Expenditure of the Allowance

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 (i.e., by 30 April), 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.

The Standards Commission wrote to the parliamentary leaders of the seven qualifying parties on 8 March 2007 advising them of the need to furnish a statement of expenditure from the allowance during 2006. The letter informed the parliamentary leaders that they must provide details, under each heading, of the specific items to which the expenditure was applied and that the statement must be accompanied by an auditor's report.

The parliamentary leaders to whom the Standards Commission wrote were:

Mr. Bertie Ahern, TD, Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil.
Mr. Enda Kenny, TD, Fine Gael.
Mr. Pat Rabbitte, TD, Labour Party.
Mr. Michael McDowell, Progressive Democrats.
Mr. Trevor Sargent, TD, Green Party.
Mr. Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, TD, Sinn Féin.
Mr. Joe Higgins, Socialist Party.

Enclosed with the letter was a Statement of Expenditure of Party Leaders Allowance form (06/PLA/EFS) for completion and return to the Standards Commission by 31 March 2007. This date is not specified in the legislation. However, having regard to the statutory deadline of 30 April 2006, the return date of 31 March was chosen to ensure that parliamentary leaders would have sufficient time to furnish their statements in advance.

In relation to the Progressive Democrats, where there had been a change of parliamentary party leader during 2006, 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 she shall prepare or cause to be prepared a statement of any expenditure from that allowance. In other words, Minister Mary Harney, TD was responsible for furnishing a statement of expenditure in respect of the period in 2006 during which she was parliamentary leader of the Progressive Democrats. However, this provision does not apply if Minister Harney and Minister McDowell agreed in writing that expenditure from the annual allowance paid to her during 2006 could be included in the statement furnished by Mr McDowell for 2006. As a single Statement of Expenditure of the Allowance was completed by Mr. McDowell, he was requested to furnish a copy of a written agreement between himself and Minister Harney to this effect with his statement.

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