Dáil General Election - Additional Advice to Election Agents and Candidates

Standards in Public Office Commission

18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2.

Addendum Guidelines for the General Election to the 29th Dáil 2002 consequent on the coming in to operation of the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2002

Telephone :(01) 6395666
Fax : (01) 6395684
E-Mail: poc@ombudsman.irlgov.ie
Website:http://www.irlgov.ie/poc.

Explanatory Note

The Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001, amongst other things, introduced new provisions placing financial limits on the value of donations which could be accepted by candidates at an election. This had unforeseen implications for other aspects of the original electoral legislation and applied, in particular, to the manner in which funds raised by branches of political parties, ostensibly for the election of candidates, were required to be treated.

The Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2002 (the 2002 Act), has recently been passed. The main changes it has introduced are as follows.

1. The net contribution made by a person to a fund-raising event organised by a political party will be a donation to the political party, even if the funds are used for the purpose of supporting one or more of the political party's candidates at an election.

2. Expenses incurred by a political party on behalf of a candidate at an election will not be a donation to the candidate, unless the candidate is given money by the party.

The effect of those amendments is that spending by a political party, which includes a branch of a party, on a candidate at the general election is no longer regarded as being a donation to the candidate. Accordingly, in relation to such spending, the limit applying to a candidate, €2,539.48 (£2,000), in terms of acceptance of donations from the same donor in the same year, does not apply. This means that if a party raised funds for the election of a candidate, whether or not the candidate's identity was known at the time the funds were raised, it is not a donation to the candidate if the party spends this money on the candidate. However, if the party gives money to a candidate, it will be regarded as a donation and the limit of €2,539.48 (£2,000) will apply.

Any spending by a political party, including a branch, on a candidate will, of course, continue to be regarded as being part of that candidate's spending limit at the election.

What are the implications

• Following from the above, if the net value of any monetary donation to a fund-raising event organised by a party exceeds €126.97 (£100), the donation must be lodged to the political donations account of the accounting unit of the party (i.e. branch or head office) which organised the event. If the net value of any monetary donation(s) to the event was less than €126.97 (£100), the donation(s) must also be lodged to the account if the account had already been opened by the relevant accounting unit. (A political donations account would already have been opened if the relevant accounting unit had previously received a monetary donation in excess of

€126.97 (£100)). The funds raised will be the funds of the accounting unit, i.e. the accounting unit will not be regarded as an intermediary through which the candidate has received donations. The party will not be required to disclose in a Donation Statement the total value of the donations received arising from the event but will be required to disclose any donations from a person exceeding a net value of €5,078.95 (£4,000). The party limit, €6,348.69 (£5,000), for acceptance of donations from the same person in the same year will apply.

• If the net value of any monetary donation to a fund-raising event organised by a candidate exceeds €126.97 (£100), the donation must be lodged to the political donations account of the candidate. If the net value of any monetary donation(s) to the event was less than €126.97 (£100), the donation(s) must also be lodged to the account if the account had already been opened by the candidate. (A political donations account would already have been opened if the candidate had previously received a monetary donation in excess of €126.97 (£100)). The candidate will not be required to disclose in a Donation Statement the total value of the donations received but will be required to disclose any donations from a person which exceed a net value of €634.87 (£500). The candidate limit of €2,539.48 (£2,000), for acceptance of donations from any one person in the same year, will apply.

• Funds raised at an event organised on behalf of a candidate by a person or group other than the candidate or the party (including a branch), e.g. "Friends of The Candidate", will be treated as follows:

i) if the funds are handed over to the candidate and the net value of any monetary donation to the event exceeds €126.97 (£100), the donation must be lodged to the political donations account of the candidate. If the net value of any monetary donation(s) to the event was less than €126.97 (£100), the donation(s) must also be lodged to the account if the account had already been opened by the candidate. The candidate will not be required to disclose in a Donation Statement the total amount of the funds raised but must disclose any individual donations with a net value exceeding €634.87 (£500);

ii) if the person or group does not hand over the funds to the candidate, the person or group will be regarded as a third party and must register as such with the Commission. He or she or it must comply with the requirements of the legislation relating to the opening of a political donations account and the other provisions of the legislation covering third parties. The maximum value of donations which the candidate can accept from a third party will be
€2,539.48 (£2,000).

Amendments to the Guidelines for the General Election consequent on the coming in to operation of the 2001 Act

As a result of the changes introduced by the 2002 Act, the following amendments will need to be made to the Commission's published Guidelines for the General Election and to the Commission's leaflet entitled Frequently Asked Questions.

• Paragraph 1.28 (ii) and (iii) of the Guidelines read as follows;

"A donation to a candidate also includes the following:

(ii) expenses incurred or payments made by a political party in relation to the candidate, which are borne by the party out of its general funds, as distinct from funds raised by it specifically for the candidate, and which are being accounted for by the candidate's election agent out of that part of the candidate's spending limit which has been retained by the candidate. [This could include expenses incurred or payments made by party headquarters, a branch or constituency organisation or by officials of the party. Expenses can only be incurred or payments made in such circumstances if authorised by the election agent of the candidate.];

(iii) money given to the candidate by the candidate's political party out of its general funds."

Sub-paragraph (ii) must now be deleted and the words "out of its general funds" must be deleted from sub-paragraph (iii)

• Paragraph 129 (vi) reads as follows:

Items not regarded as donations to a candidate include:

"(vi) expenses incurred or payments made by the national agent of a political party (or his or her authorised persons) on behalf of the candidate from within the amount of the candidate's spending limit which has been assigned to the party by the candidate;"

This should read:

"(vi) expenses incurred or payments made by a political party on behalf of the candidate;"

• Appendix 3 of the Guidelines outlines how funds raised by "Fund-raising events" are to be dealt with. The second-last paragraph reads as follows:

"If a person or group, other than the candidate, organised a fund-raising event, on behalf of the candidate, the person or group would be regarded as an intermediary and the candidate would be required to disclose as a donation any individual contributions to the event exceeding in value €634.87 (£500)."

This should now read:

"If a person or group, other than the candidate or a political party (including a branch), organised a fund-raising event on behalf of a candidate, the funds will be treated as follows:

i) if the funds are handed over to the candidate and the net value of any monetary donation to the event exceeds €126.97 (£100), the donation must be lodged to the political donations account of the candidate. If the net value of any monetary donation(s) to the event was less than €126.97 (£100), the donation(s) must also be lodged to the account if the account had already been opened by the candidate. The candidate will not be required to disclose in a Donation Statement the total amount of the funds raised but must disclose any individual donations with a net value exceeding €634.87 (£500);

ii) if the person or group does not hand over the funds to the candidate, the person or group will be regarded as a third party and must register as such with the Commission. He or she or it must comply with the requirements of the legislation relating to the opening of a political donations account and the other provisions of the legislation covering third parties. The maximum value of donations which the candidate can accept from a third party will be
€2,539.48 (£2,000).

• Question 5 of the Frequently Asked Questions reads as follows.

"Q5 Is the supply of posters, leaflets, etc., to a candidate by a political party regarded as a donation to the candidate by the party?

A5 No, if the cost of the posters, etc., is borne by the party out of that part of the candidate's spending limit which has been assigned by the candidate to the party.

Neither is it a donation to the candidate by the party if the cost is borne by the party out of that part of the candidate's spending limit which has been retained by the candidate, where the funds being used were provided by the candidate, or raised specifically for the purpose of supporting the election of one or more of the party's candidates in a constituency.

It is a donation if the party gives more than €634.87 (£500) in money to the candidate in relation to his or her election campaign unless the money is from funds raised specifically for the purpose of supporting the election of one or more of the party's candidates in a constituency."

The answer to Question 5 should now read:

"A5 No.

It is a donation if the party gives money to the candidate in relation to his or her election campaign and it must be disclosed if the amount is greater than €634.87 (£500) ."

Advice relating to newspaper advertising

If an advertisement or supplement is published in a newspaper or other periodical publication which carries a publication date (i.e. the date printed on the paper) which occurs during the period from the day following the date of dissolution of the Dáil up to polling day, both days included, the cost of the advertisement or supplement will be regarded as an election expense.

If the publication in question is circulated ahead of its publication date, the Commission will regard the date of publication as the operative date regardless of the date of circulation. The Commission is aware of the practice with weekly provincial papers where circulation might occur a number of days ahead of the publication date.

In the case of daily newspapers, including Sunday newspapers, the cost of an advertisement or supplement will be regarded as an election expense if it appears in the newspaper on any day after the date of dissolution of the Dáil up to polling day, both days included.

Advice relating to use of offices during the election period

A definition of what constitutes election expenses is contained in the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001, and includes:

(e) Office and Stationery.

Expenses in respect of those matters include costs incurred in the rental or use of an office premises or meeting rooms for election purposes (other than for the purposes of annual or other party conferences) and the costs of heating, electricity, insurance, purchase or rental of office equipment, telephones, stationery and postage.

The definition is reproduced on page 39 (item (e)) of the Commission's published Guidelines for the General Election.

The Commission has received a number of requests for clarification of the legislative position in relation to the rental or use of offices during the election period. In particular, the Commission has been requested to confirm that the costs incurred in the rental or use of offices will, in all circumstances, be regarded as election expenses. The election period is from the date of dissolution of the Dáil up to polling day, both days included. The Commission is of the view that the reference in the definition above to the "use" of an office is intended to cover a situation where a person is given the use of an office free or below cost.

The following is the position:

• expenses incurred in the rental of an office during the election period will be regarded as election expenses, which will be calculated having regard to the extent to which the office is used for election purposes during the election period;
• where use of an office is provided free or below cost, the full commercial value of the use for election purposes during the election period (allowance being made for any discount which is normally given or is generally available) will be regarded as an election expense. In determining the commercial value, account may also be taken of the condition of the office (and the property where the office is situate).

The following will not be regarded as election expenses:

• any expenses incurred in the rental or use of an office, where the expenses fall to be met out of public funds;
• the free use as an office of a room in a person's private dwelling, where the room is not available for renting in the normal course, excluding any expenses incurred in carrying out alterations to facilitate its use for election purposes during the election period;
• the use of an office which is owned by a candidate, excluding any expenses incurred in carrying out alterations to facilitate its use for election purposes during the election period

List of Minor Expenses

Note 1: Where "minor expenses" have been incurred, this form must accompany the Election Expenses Statement form which the election agent is required to furnish to the Standards in Public Office Commission.

Note 2: The expenses [not exceeding €126.97 (£100) in any one payment] listed on this form are not election expenses, provided that the person who incurred them is not reimbursed. The expenses must have been authorised by the candidate's election agent. Any person (including the candidate) incurring minor expenses without the authority of the election agent is committing an offence. An invoice, receipt or voucher must be submitted in respect of each item listed below. The form must be completed by the election agent.

Name of the person who incurred the expense	Address of the person who incurred the expense	Description of the item on which the expense was incurred	Value of the item €
		Total