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

Part 5 - Consideration by the Standards Commission of Statements of Expenditure of the Allowance and Auditors' Reports received in respect of 2006

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 must also furnish a report to the Minister for Finance on the statements and auditors' reports received indicating:

(i) whether the statements and auditors' reports have been submitted within the specified period,

(ii) whether any expenditure is disclosed which does not comply with subsection 1(10)(5) of the Act,

(iii) whether the statements are adequate, or

(iv) whether the statements are inappropriate

A Statement of Expenditure/Public Auditor's Report was received by the Standards Commission from the parliamentary leaders of all seven qualifying parties within the specified period (i.e., by 30 April 2007). The Standards Commission has considered the Statements of Expenditure/Public Auditors' Reports and is satisfied that:

i) they do not disclose any expenditure which does not comply with section 1.10(5) of the Act,

ii) they are adequate, and

iii) they are not inappropriate.

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.

Details of the allowances paid to the parliamentary leaders and an outline of expenditure from the allowances in 2006 are contained in Table 1, attached. Table 2 provides a breakdown of expenditure from the allowances under the headings set out in section 1.10(14) of the Act. It should be noted that 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.

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