Election Agents

The Electoral Act 1997, as amended, (the Act) requires each candidate at a Dáil and European Parliament election to appoint an election agent. (See below regarding presidential elections.) The candidate must supply the name and office address of the election agent in writing to the Returning Officer for the constituency in which the candidate is standing. The Returning Officer will subsequently provide this information to the Standards in Public Office Commission (the Standards Commission). A candidate who does not notify the Returning Officer of the appointment of an election agent is deemed to be acting as his / her own election agent.

The election agent is the key link for the Standards Commission in relation to expenses incurred on the candidate's behalf at the election. The main function of the election agent is to authorise and control spending connected to the candidate's election campaign. The election agent is the only person who may incur expenses or make payments on behalf of the candidate. The election agent must have an office or place in, or convenient to, the constituency to which claims, notices, writs, summonses and other documents may be sent.

An election agent is required to furnish an Election Expenses Statement and Statutory Declaration to the Standards Commission after the election. In this statement, the election agent must disclose to the Standards Commission details of all expenses incurred and payments made by, or on behalf of, the agent in relation to the candidate at the election. The completed statement, together with all relevant invoices, receipts or vouchers, must be received by the Standards Commission within 56 days after polling day.

At a presidential election, each candidate is required to provide details relating to the appointment of an election agent to the Presidential Returning Officer who, in turn, will notify the Standards Commission. As well as furnishing an Election Expenses Statement and Statutory Declaration to the Standards Commission after the election, the election agent at a presidential election is also responsible for disclosing donations received by the candidate in relation to the election and, in that regard, must furnish a Donation Statement and Statutory Declaration to the Standards Commission within the same 56 day time scale.

The following publications provide further information for election agents relating to their responsibilities under the Act: