First Previous (PART III Payments to Political Parties and Reimbursement of Election Expenses of Candidates) Next (PART V Expenditure by Political Parties and Candidates at Dáil Elections and European Elections)

25 1997

ELECTORAL ACT, 1997

PART IV

Disclosure of Donations

Interpretation (Part IV).

22. —(1) In this Part “subsidiary organisation” means, in relation to any political party, a body or association which—

(a) forms part of such political party, or

(b) is established by or under the constitution of the political party, or

(c) is effectively controlled by the political party or the officers thereof, or

(d) has functions conferred on it by or under the constitution of the party.

(2) For the purposes of this Part—

(a) “donation” means any contribution given for political purposes by any person, whether or not a member of a political party, to a political party, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election and includes all or any of the following, namely—

(i) a donation of money,

(ii) a donation of property or goods,

(iii) conferring the right to use, without payment or other consideration, indefinitely or for a specified period of time, any property or goods,

(iv) the supply of services without payment or other consideration therefor,

(v) the difference between the commercial price and the price charged for the purchase, acquisition or use of property or goods or the supply of any service where the price, fee or other consideration is less than the commercial price, or

(vi) in the case of a contribution made by a person in connection with an event organised for the purpose of raising funds for a political party, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election, the proportion attributable to that contribution of the net profit, if any, deriving from the event;

(b) each of the following shall be deemed not to be a donation—

(i) free postage provided for a candidate under rule 22 of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1997 or section 57 of the Act of 1992 or the said section 57 as applied to Seanad elections by section 25 of the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act, 1937,

(ii) any payment, service or facility provided to a person out of public funds or moneys provided by an institution of the European Communities or other intergovernmental organisation to which the State is a party (whether pursuant to this Act, the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Acts, 1938 to 1996, the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts, 1938 to 1996, the European Assembly (Irish Representatives) Act, 1979, or otherwise) by virtue of being a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a holder of a qualifying office (within the meaning of the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts, 1938 to 1996), the holder of a position referred to in the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Amendment) Act, 1994, a representative in the European Parliament, a political party, a political group or any group of members in the Dáil, the holder of an elective or other public office or a member of, delegate to or representative in a body established by or under an agreement or arrangement to which the State is a party,

(iii) benefits derived from services rendered by an individual, including the use of the individual's motor vehicle, on behalf of a political party, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad, European or local election where the said service is gratuitous and is not part of that individual's work carried out under a contract of employment or, where the person is self employed, in the course of the person's business or the practice of the person's profession,

(iv) the publication in a newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication or the broadcast on radio or television of news, reports, articles, features, editorial or other comments, including the publication of letters to the editor, where such publication or broadcast is effected in the same manner as that of other material relating to issues of public interest or concern, and the newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication is not published for the purpose of promoting the interests of a political party or a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a representative in the European Parliament or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election,

(v) the transmission on radio or television of a broadcast on behalf of a political party or a candidate at a Dáil or European election;

(c) a donation, whether made directly or through any intermediary, shall be deemed to be made—

(i) to a political party if it is made to the party, to any branch or subsidiary organisation thereof, to any candidate of the party at a Dáil, Seanad, European or local election, to any member of the party who is a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a local authority or a representative in the European Parliament or to any officer, member or agent of the party or of any branch or subsidiary organisation thereof,

(ii) to a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election if it is made to the member, representative or candidate concerned or to any agent or other person acting for the said member, representative or candidate,

and any reference to a donation or the acceptance thereof shall be construed accordingly;

(d) where a person makes more than one donation—

(i) in the same year to the same political party, member of either House of the Oireachtas or representative in the European Parliament, or

(ii) in relation to the same Dáil, Seanad or European election to the same candidate,

all such donations shall, for the purposes of section 24 , be aggregated and treated as a single donation.

Anonymous donations.

23. —(1) A political party, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election shall not, directly or through any intermediary, accept a donation exceeding £100 in value unless the name and address of the person by or on whose behalf the donation is made are known to the party, member, representative or candidate, as the case may be.

(2) Where, notwithstanding subsection (1), a donation, acceptance of which is prohibited by that subsection, is made to a political party, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election, the party, member, representative or candidate concerned shall, not later than 14 days after the receipt of such donation, notify the Public Offices Commission in writing of such receipt and remit the donation or the value thereof to the said Commission.

(3) The Public Offices Commission shall cause a copy of each notification received under subsection (2) to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and shall dispose of all moneys, property or goods received under the said subsection in such manner as may be directed by the Minister for Finance.

Donation statement.

24. —(1) (a) Not later than the 31st day of January in every year, each person who, in the preceding year, was a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a representative in the European Parliament shall furnish to the Public Offices Commission a written statement, in the form directed by the said Commission, in respect of the preceding year indicating whether during that year the member or representative, as the case may be, received a donation exceeding in value the relevant amount specified in subsection (4) and stating in respect of each such donation (if any)—

(i) the value of the donation, and

(ii) the name, description and postal address of the person by or on whose behalf the donation was made.

(b) Not later than the 31st day of March in every year, each political party shall furnish to the Public Offices Commission a written statement, in the form directed by the said Commission, in respect of the preceding year indicating whether during that year the party received a donation exceeding in value the relevant amount specified in subsection (4) and stating in respect of each such donation (if any)—

(i) the value of the donation, and

(ii) the name, description and postal address of the person by or on whose behalf the donation was made.

(2) (a) Not later than the fifty sixth day after the polling day at a Dáil or European election in a constituency, each candidate at the election who was not elected at such election shall furnish to the Public Offices Commission a written statement, in the form directed by the said Commission, indicating whether in relation to the election the candidate received a donation exceeding in value the relevant amount specified in subsection (4) including in the case of a candidate at a Dáil election, donations received in relation to that election at any time before the issue of the writ or writs in relation to the election and, in the case of a candidate at a European election, donations received at any time before the date of the order appointing polling day at the election and furnishing in respect of each such donation the information referred to at subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (a) of subsection (1).

(b) Not later than the fifty sixth day after the relevant day on which the poll is closed at a Seanad election, each candidate at the election who was not elected at such election shall furnish to the Public Offices Commission a written statement, in the form directed by the said Commission, indicating whether in relation to the election the candidate received a donation exceeding in value the relevant amount specified in subsection (4) including donations received before the date of the order appointing days and times at a Seanad general election under section 12 of the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act, 1937, or a Seanad general election order made under section 24 of the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act, 1947, or the date of a Seanad bye-election order under either such Act, as the case may be, and furnishing in respect of each such donation the information referred to at subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (a) of subsection (1).

(3) A statement furnished pursuant to subsection (1) or (2) (to be known, and is referred to in this Act, as a “donation statement”) shall be accompanied by a statutory declaration made by the person by whom the statement is furnished that, to the best of the person's knowledge and belief, the statement is correct in every material respect and that the person has taken all reasonable action in order to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the statement.

(4) The specified amount for the purposes of this section shall be, as respects a political party, £4,000, and as respects any other person, £500.

(5) In the case of a political party, the donation statement shall be furnished and the statutory declaration shall be made by the appropriate officer of the party.

(6) It shall be the duty of every person who is required by this section to furnish a donation statement and make a declaration to make such enquiries and maintain such records as are necessary for the purpose of furnishing the said statement and making the declaration.

(7) (a) The Public Offices Commission shall cause a copy of each donation statement and declaration furnished in pursuance of this section to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(b) On or before the first day of May in each year, the Public Offices Commission shall inform the Minister for Finance, in writing, whether a donation statement in respect of the preceding year has been received from a qualified party.

Offences and penalties (Part IV).

25. —(1) The appropriate officer of a political party or the person deemed to have been appointed as the appropriate officer under section 71 , a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election who was not elected at the election shall be guilty of an offence if he or she—

(a) fails to notify the Public Offices Commission in accordance with section 23 of the receipt of a donation acceptance of which is prohibited by that section,

(b) fails to remit to the Public Offices Commission in accordance with the said section 23 such a donation or the value thereof,

(c) fails to furnish the donation statement and make the statutory declaration required by section 24 on or before the relevant specified date, or

(d) knowingly furnishes a donation statement or makes a statutory declaration which is false or misleading in any material respect.

(2) Where a person is guilty of an offence under this section—

(a) the person shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000,

(b) the person shall be liable, where the offence is an offence referred to in subsection (1)(d), on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £20,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and

(c) where the conviction relates to failure to furnish a donation statement under section 24 , the person shall be guilty of a further offence on every day on which the failure continues after such conviction and for each such offence the person shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £100.

(3) Proceedings for an offence under this Part shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Disclosure of donations by companies, trade union, etc.

26. —(1) There shall be included in—

(a) the report by the directors of a company under section 158 of the Companies Act, 1963, and the annual return under section 125 or 126, as may be appropriate, of that Act,

(b) the annual return to be made to the Registrar of Friendly Societies by a trade union (within the meaning of the Trade Union Acts, 1871 to 1990) or a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893 to 1978, or the Friendly Societies Acts, 1896 to 1977, and

(c) the report of a building society (within the meaning of the Building Societies Act, 1989) under section 78 of that Act,

particulars of all donations (within the meaning of section 22 or 46 or regulations made under section 72 ) exceeding £4,000 in value made by the company, trade union, society or building society, as the case may be, in the year to which the report or return relates, including particulars sufficient to identify—

(a) the value of each such donation, and

(b) the person to whom the donation was made.

(2) For the purposes of this section—

(a) “company” has the same meaning as in the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990;

(b) all donations made by the company, trade union, society or building society, as the case may be, to the same person in the year to which the report or return relates shall be aggregated and treated as a single donation;

(c) in the case of a contribution of the kind referred to in subsection (2)(a)(vi) of section 22 or subsection (2)(a)(vi) of section 46 regard shall be had to the gross value thereof.