Political Donations

Table of Contents

ELECTORAL (AMENDMENT) 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

(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;

(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.

ELECTORAL (AMENDMENT) ACT 2001

Amendment of Act of 1997.

49.—The Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) in section 3 by the substitution in subsection (1) for all the words from “section 21” down to and including “51 or 52” of “section 21, 22, 23, 23A, 23B, 24(1A), 24(4), 26(1), 30, 31, 32, 46, 47, 48(1), 48A, 48B, 51 or 52”,

(b) in section 22 by—

(i) the insertion of “or a third party” after “European Parliament” in each place where those words occur in paragraph (a) of subsection (2);

(ii) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a) of subsection (2)—

“(aa) ‘account’ means an account in an institution in the State for the purpose of crediting and debiting money received in respect of donations;

‘accounting unit’, in relation to a political party, means a branch, including the headquarters of a political party if it is a separate accounting unit or other subsidiary organisation of the party, which in any particular year, receives a donation the value of which exceeds £100;

‘candidate’ means a person who on or before the date of movement of a writ in relation to a Dáil general election or bye-election or the date of the making of the order appointing polling day in relation to a Seanad election or an election to the European Parliament is declared by himself or herself or by others to be a candidate at the election concerned;

‘institution’ means—

(a) the holder of a licence under section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971 ,

(b) a building society incorporated or deemed to be incorporated under the Building Societies Act, 1989 , or a body incorporated in a corresponding manner under the law of any other Member State of the European Communities,

(d) ACC Bank plc,

(e) An Post, or

(f) a person authorised in accordance with the European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations, 1992 ( S.I. No. 395 of 1992 ), to carry on business in the State;

‘political group’ means a group formed in accordance with the rules of procedure of the European Parliament;

‘political purposes’ means any of the following purposes, namely—

(i) (I) to promote or oppose directly or indirectly, the interests of a political party, a political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a representative in the European Parliament, or

(II) to present, directly or indirectly, the policies or a particular policy of a political party, a political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a third party, or

(III) to present, directly or indirectly, the comments of a political party, a political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a third party with regard to the policy or policies of another political party, political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, representative in the European Parliament, third party or candidate at an election or referendum or otherwise, or

(IV) to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the interests of a third party in connection with the conduct or management of any campaign conducted with a view to promoting or procuring a particular outcome in relation to a policy or policies or functions of the Government or any public authority;

(ii) to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election or to solicit votes for or against a candidate or to present the policies or a particular policy of a candidate or the views of a candidate on any matter connected with the election or the comments of a candidate with regard to the policy or policies of a political party or a political group or of another candidate at the election or otherwise;

(iii) otherwise to influence the outcome of the election or a referendum or campaign referred to in paragraph (i)(IV) of this definition;

‘responsible person’, in relation to an accounting unit, means the treasurer or any other person responsible for dealing with donations to the unit, or, in relation to a third party, the person or persons responsible for the organisation, management or financial affairs of the third party;

‘third party’ means any person, other than a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties under Part III of the Electoral Act, 1992 , or a candidate at an election, who accepts, in a particular year, a donation the value of which exceeds £100.”,

(i) in subsection (1), by the insertion of “or third party” after “European election” and the insertion of “third party” after “party, member, representative”, and

(ii) in subsection (2) by the insertion of “or third party” after “European election” and the insertion of “third party” after “party, member, representative”,

(d) the insertion of the following sections after section 23:

“

Disclosure of Donations

Interpretation.

19A.—For the purposes of this Part—

‘account’ means an account in an institution in the State for the purpose of crediting and debiting money received in respect of donations;

‘candidate’ means a person who on or before the date of the making of the order appointing polling day in relation to an election is declared by himself or herself or by others to be a candidate at the election concerned;

‘institution’ means—

(a) the holder of a licence under section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971 ,

(d) ACC Bank plc,

(e) An Post, or

(f) a person authorised in accordance with the European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations, 1992 ( S.I. No. 395 of 1992 ), to carry on business in the State;

‘local political matter’ means a matter relating to the policy or policies or functions of a local authority or other statutory body in which are vested functions in relation to local government;

‘political purposes’ means any of the following purposes, namely—

(i) (I) to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the interests of a political party or a member of a local authority, or

(II) to present, directly or indirectly, the policies or a particular policy of a political party, a member of a local authority or a third party, or

(III) to present, directly or indirectly, the comments of a political party, a member of a local authority or a third party with regard to the policy or policies of another political party, member of a local authority, third party or candidate at the election, or at a plebiscite or campaign or otherwise, or

(ii) to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate at the election or to solicit votes for or against a candidate or to present the policies or a particular policy of a candidate or the views of a candidate with regard to any matter connected with the election or the comments of a candidate with regard to the policy or policies of a political party or third party or of another candidate at the election or otherwise,

(iii) otherwise to influence the outcome of the election, or a plebiscite or campaign;

‘plebiscite’ means a poll to ascertain the views or consent of qualified electors, within the meaning of section 67(2) of the Local Government Act, 1994 , in relation to a local political matter;

‘responsible person’, in relation to a third party, means a person who is responsible for the organisation, management or financial affairs of the third party;

‘third party’, in relation to a local election, plebiscite or campaign, means any person, other than a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties under Part III of the Act of 1992 or a candidate at an election, who accepts, in any particular year, a donation the value of which exceeds £100.

Limits on donation amounts.

19B.—(1) (a) Without prejudice to subsection (2), a candidate at an election shall not, directly or through any intermediary, accept in connection with the election from a particular person a donation the value of which exceeds £2,000.

(b) Without prejudice to subsection (2), none of the following persons, namely—

(i) a member of a local authority,

(ii) a political party, or

(iii) a third party,

shall, directly or through any intermediary, accept from a particular person in a particular year a donation the value of which exceeds—

(I) in case the first-mentioned person falls within subparagraph (i), £2,000,

(II) in case the first-mentioned person falls within subparagraph (ii) or (iii), £5,000.

(2) None of the persons referred to in subsection (1) shall, directly or through any intermediary, accept a donation of whatever value given by—

(a) an individual (other than an Irish citizen) who resides outside the island of Ireland, or

(b) a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons which does not keep an office in the island of Ireland, being an office from which the carrying on of one or more of its principal activities is directed.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, if the provisions of section 23A or 48A of the Electoral Act, 1997 , fall to be applied to anything referred to in subsection (1) or (2), the provisions of the said section 23A or 48A (as the case may be) and subsection (1) or (2) shall be construed as permitting only one donation of the value of £2,000 or £5,000, as the case may be (or two or more donations of a total value of the said amount) to be received from a particular person in relation to the same matter.

(4) Where a person makes more than one donation in the same year to the same member of a local authority or, in relation to the same election, plebiscite or campaign, to the same candidate or political party or, in connection with the same election, plebiscite or campaign, to the same third party, all such donations shall, for the purposes of this section, be aggregated and treated as a single donation received by the person concerned and references in subsequent provisions of this section to a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by subsection (1) shall be construed accordingly.

(5) The limits referred to in subsection (1) shall not apply to the provision by any person of a constituency office to an individual or, if more than one such office is provided to the individual, whichever one of those offices is nominated in writing by the individual for the purposes of this subsection.

(6) Where, notwithstanding subsection (1) or (2), a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by either subsection, is made to a person referred to therein the donee shall, not later than 14 days after the receipt of the donation, either—

(a) return the donation, or, in the case of a donation referred to in subsection (1) which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned, to the donor and keep a written record of that return for the purposes of its being furnished to the local authority concerned, if required by it, or

(b) notify the local authority concerned of such receipt and remit the donation, or, in the case of a donation referred to in subsection (1) which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned or the value thereof to the authority.

(7) A local authority shall dispose of all moneys, property or goods received by it under subsection (6) in such manner as it determines.

Variation of monetary amounts by order of Minister.

19C.—(1) The Minister may, by order, vary any monetary amount specified in section 19A, 19B, 19D, 19E or 19F having regard to any change in the consumer price index since the coming into operation of the provision for the time being in force specifying the amount in question, including an order under this section, and may, by order, amend or revoke any such order.

(2) For the purposes of this section, ‘change in the consumer price index’ means the difference between the consumer price index number last published before the date of the order under this section and the said number last published before the date of the coming into force of the provision specifying the amount applying immediately before the making of the said order, including an order under this section, expressed as a percentage of the last-mentioned number.

(3) Every order made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything done thereunder.

Political donations accounts.

19D.—(1) A member of a local authority, a candidate at an election or a third party who receives, in any particular year, a monetary donation the value of which exceeds £100 shall open and maintain an account in an institution in the State and shall lodge that donation and any further monetary donations received by him or her to that account.

(2) A member of a local authority or an unsuccessful candidate at an election shall ensure that, in the case of a member, the donation statement furnished by him or her under section 19E to a local authority and, in the case of an unsuccessful candidate, the statement furnished by him or her under section 13, is accompanied by—

(a) a statement provided by the institution referred to in subsection (1) with which he or she has opened the account referred to therein specifying the transactions that have taken place in relation to the account, in the case of a member of a local authority, during the year preceding the year in which the said donation statement is furnished or, in the case of an unsuccessful candidate, during the period beginning on the date of opening of the account and ending on polling day at the election, and

(b) a certificate, in the form directed by the Minister, signed by the member or unsuccessful candidate, stating that all donations referred to in subsection (1) that were received by him or her during the said preceding year or said period, as the case may be, were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for political purposes.

(3) Not later than 31 March in every year, the responsible person of a third party shall furnish to the local authority concerned a statement provided by the institution referred to in subsection (1) with which the third party has opened the account referred to therein specifying the transactions that have taken place in relation to the account during the preceding year together with a certificate, in the form directed by the Minister, signed by him or her stating that all donations referred to in subsection (1) that were received by the third party during the preceding year were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for political purposes.

(4) The certificate to be furnished under subsection (2) or (3) shall be accompanied by a statutory declaration made by the person by whom the certificate 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 certificate.

(5) If a person to whom subsection (2) applies dies before the expiration of the period for the furnishing of the donation statement or, as the case may be, the statement under section 13 referred to in that subsection to the local authority concerned the requirements of that subsection with respect to that statement being accompanied by the statement and certificate referred to therein shall not apply.

(6) A local authority shall retain the statements, certificates and statutory declarations furnished to it pursuant to subsection (2) or (3) and shall not disclose the contents of those statements, certificates or declarations unless ordered by a court to do so or save when such disclosure is required in connection with an investigation held by the local authority.

(7) A member of a local authority, a candidate at an election, a third party or the responsible person of a third party, as the case may be, who fails to comply with subsection (1), (2), (3) or (4) shall be guilty of an offence.

Donation statement.

19E.—(1) Not later than the 31st day of January in every year, each person who, in the preceding year, was a member of a local authority shall furnish to the local authority concerned a written statement, in the form directed by the Minister, in respect of the preceding year indicating whether during that year the member received a donation the value of which exceeded £500 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 statement furnished pursuant to subsection (1) (which shall 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.

(3) 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.

(4) If the person to whom subsection (1) applies dies before the expiration of the period for furnishing a statement under that subsection, such statement shall not be required to be made to the local authority concerned.

Anonymous donations.

19F.—(1) A member of a local authority, a candidate at a local election or a third party at a local election or a plebiscite or in connection with a campaign or otherwise shall not, directly or through any intermediary, accept a donation the value of which exceeds £100 unless the name and address of the person by or on whose behalf the donation is made are known to the member, candidate or third party, as the case may be.

(2) Where, notwithstanding subsection (1), a donation, acceptance of which is prohibited by that subsection, is made to a member of a local authority, a candidate at a local election or a third party at a local election or a plebiscite or in connection with a campaign or otherwise, the member, candidate or party concerned shall, not later than 14 days after the receipt of such donation, notify the local authority concerned in writing of such receipt and remit the donation or the value thereof to the local authority.

(3) The said local authority shall cause a copy of each notification received under subsection (2) by it to be laid before the members of the local authority and shall dispose of all moneys, property or goods received under the said subsection in such manner as it determines.

Registration of third parties.

19G.—As soon as may be after the receipt by it of a donation the value of which exceeds £100 and before incurring any expenses for political purposes or, as the case may be, incurring, subsequent to that receipt, any further such expenses, a third party shall furnish to the local authority concerned in writing—

(a) the name and address of the third party and the name and address of the responsible person or each responsible person in relation to the third party,

(b) a statement of the nature, purpose and estimated amount of the donations to, and proposed expenses of, the third party in any year, and

(c) an indication of the third party’s connection, if any, with any political party or candidate at the election or with plebiscite or campaign.”;

(n) in section 20 by—

(i) the deletion of “donations and” after “statement of” and the substitution of “section 13(1)(a)(ii)” for “subsection 13(1)(a)(iii)” in subsection (2),

(ii) the substitution of “pursuant to section 13” for “of donations and election expenses” in subsection (4);

(o) in section 21 by—

(i) the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (4)—

“(4A) A person to whom section 19D applies shall be guilty of an offence if he or she—

(a) fails to furnish the statement of an institution, certificate or statutory declaration required by subsection (2) or (3) of section 19D on or before the relevant specified date, or

(b) knowingly furnishes such a statement, certificate or declaration which is false or misleading in any material respect.

(4B) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he or she—

(a) fails to notify the local authority concerned in accordance with section 19B or 19F of the receipt of a donation acceptance of which is prohibited by that section,

(b) fails to remit to the local authority concerned or donor in accordance with section 19B or 19F such a donation or part of a donation or value thereof,

(c) fails to furnish the statement and make the statutory declaration required by section 19E on or before the relevant specified date,

(d) knowingly furnishes a donation statement or makes a statutory declaration required by section 19E which is false or misleading in any material respect, or

(e) fails to comply with section 19G.”;

(ii) by the insertion of “or section 19B, 19D, 19E, 19F or 19G” after “this section” in subsection (5)(a);

(iii) the substitution of “(3)(c), (4A)(b) or (4B)(d)” for “or (3)(c)” in subparagraph (ii) of subsection (5)(a);

(iv) the insertion of “or a statement or certificate or statutory declaration under section 19D or 19E” after “section 13” in paragraph (b) of subsection (5); and

(p) by the insertion of the following Schedule after section 25:

“

SCHEDULE

1. The following are the expenses referred to in section 6(1)(aa):

(a) Advertising (whatever the medium used).

Expenses in respect of such advertising include agency fees, design costs and other costs incurred in connection with preparing, producing, distributing or otherwise disseminating such advertising.

(b) Publicity.

Expenses in respect of that matter include expenses incurred in respect of party political broadcasts, the provision of any services or facilities in connection with press conferences or other dealings with the media, media advice and training and photography.

Expenses in respect of such material include the costs of the design, production, printing, erection and removal of election posters.

(d) Other election material.

Expenses in respect of such material include the design, production, printing and disseminating of such material (other than posters) including canvass cards, election leaflets, election manifestos, newsletters and any other promotional election material.

(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.

(f) Transport and travel.

Expenses in respect of those matters include expenses incurred on transport and travel (by any means), petrol and diesel, rental or use of campaign vehicles, rental or use of vehicles for transport of voters on polling day, accommodation costs, taxi and hackney services and courier services.

(g) Market Research.

Expenses in respect of that matter include expenses incurred in the taking of an opinion poll or other similar survey relating to an election within the period of 60 days before polling day at the election by or on behalf of a political party or a candidate at the election.

(h) Campaign workers.

Expenses in respect of that matter include payments to campaign workers, insurance and other costs.

2. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in paragraph 1 of this Schedule extends to any of the matters referred to in section 6(1)(b).”.

ELECTORAL (AMENDMENT) (POLITICAL FUNDING) ACT 2012

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A REGISTER OF CORPORATE DONORS; TO PROVIDE FOR REDUCTIONS IN DONATION AND DONATION DECLARATION LIMITS; TO PROVIDE FOR DISCLOSURE OF ACCOUNTS BY POLITICAL PARTIES; TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO STATE FUNDING OF POLITICAL PARTIES; FOR THESE AND OTHER PURPOSES TO AMEND THE ELECTORAL ACT 1992, THE ELECTORAL ACT 1997 AND THE LOCAL ELECTIONS (DISCLOSURE OF DONATIONS AND EXPENDITURE) ACT 1999; AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.

[28th July, 2012]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

PART 1

Preliminary and General

Short title, collective citations, construction and commencement.

1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012.

(2) The Electoral Acts 1992 to 2012 and this Act shall be read together as one and this Act shall be included in the collective citation “Electoral Acts 1992 to 2012”.

(3) The Local Elections Acts 1974 to 2009 and this Act (in so far as it relates to local elections) may be cited together as the Local Elections Acts 1974 to 2012 and shall be read together as one.

(4) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or provisions.

Definitions.

2.— In this Act—

“Act of 1992” means the Electoral Act 1992 ;

“Act of 1997” means the Electoral Act 1997 ;

“Act of 1998” means the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1998 ;

“Act of 1999” means the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 ;

“Act of 2001” means the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001 ;

“Act of 2011” means the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2011 .

PART 2

Amendment of Electoral Act 1992

Amendment of section 25 of Act of 1992.

3.— Section 25 (amended by section 11 of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1992 is amended—

(a) in subsection (7)—

(i) by substituting the following paragraphs for paragraphs (f) and (g):

“(f) where the party is registered as organised to contest elections in a specified part of the State, a reference to that fact and to the part of the State concerned,

(g) the name of any political group in accordance with subsection (8), and”,

and

(ii) by inserting the following new paragraph after paragraph (g):

“(h) the name and address of each accounting unit of the political party and the name and address of the responsible person or persons of the accounting unit.”,

and

(b) by inserting the following new subsection after subsection (9):

“(10) In this section and section 25A ‘accounting unit’ and ‘responsible person’ have the same meaning as they have in section 22 of the Electoral Act 1997 .”.

Amendment of section 25A of Act of 1992.

4.— Section 25A (inserted by section 11 of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1992 is amended by inserting the following new subsection after subsection (4):

“(4A) (a) when replying to an inquiry under subsection (4) the officer of the party shall provide the Registrar with the name and address of each accounting unit of the political party and the name and address of the responsible person or persons of the accounting unit, including any changes that have occurred during the period from when the particulars were last provided to the Registrar,

(b) the Registrar shall enter the particulars provided under paragraph (a) in the Register.”.

PART 3

Amendment of Electoral Act 1997

Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1997.

5.— Section 2 of the Act of 1997 is amended by inserting the following definitions in subsection (1):

“ ‘Act of 1999’ means the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 ;

‘register of corporate donors’ means the register established under section 23D (inserted by section 14 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012);”.

Amendment of section 3 of Act of 1997.

6.— Section 3 (amended by section 7(a) of the Act of 2011) of the Act of 1997 is amended in subsection (1) by—

(a) inserting “23AA,” after “23A,”,

(b) inserting “23D,” after “23B,”, and

Amendment of section 22 of Act of 1997.

7.— Section 22(2) of the Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a) (amended by section 4 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2002 )—

(i) in subparagraph (vi) by substituting “from the event,” for “from the event, or”,

(ii) in subparagraph (vii) by substituting “the latter purpose, or” for “the latter purpose;”, and

(iii) by inserting the following subparagraph after subparagraph (vii):

“(viii) a payment by the person on their own behalf, or on behalf of one or more than one other person, of a fee or subscription for membership or continued membership of a political party;”,

and

(b) in paragraph (aa) (inserted by section 49(b)(ii) of the Act of 2001) by—

(i) substituting “€100” for “£100” in the definition of “accounting unit”,

(ii) substituting “€100” for “£100” in the definition of “third party”, and

(iii) inserting the following definitions:

“ ‘company’ means a company established under the Companies Acts;

‘corporate donor’ means—

(i) a body corporate,

(ii) an unincorporated body of persons, or

(iii) a trust,

which makes a donation, and for the purpose of this definition a body corporate and any subsidiary thereof shall be deemed to be one person;”.

Amendment of section 23 of Act of 1997.

8.— Section 23 (amended by section 49(c) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1997 is amended in subsection (1) by substituting “€100” for “£100”.

Amendment of section 23A of Act of 1997.

9.— Section 23A (inserted by section 49(d) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1997 is amended by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Without prejudice to subsection (2), none of the following persons, namely—

(a) a member of either House of the Oireachtas,

(b) a member of the European Parliament,

(d) a political party,

(e) a third party, or

(f) an accounting unit,

shall, directly or through any intermediary, accept from a particular person in a particular year—

(i) a donation the value of which exceeds, in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (a), (b), or (c), €1,000,

(ii) a donation the value of which exceeds, in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (d), (e), or (f), €2,500, or

(iii) a donation of cash of an amount which exceeds €200.”.

Limits on donations from corporate donors.

10.— The Act of 1997 is amended by inserting the following section after section 23A (inserted by section 49(d) of the Act of 2001):

“23AA.— (1) None of the following persons namely—

(a) a member of either House of the Oireachtas,

(b) a member of the European Parliament,

(d) a political party,

(e) a third party, or

(f) an accounting unit,

shall, directly or through any intermediary, accept from a particular corporate donor in a particular year a donation the value of which exceeds €200 unless—

(i) the corporate donor is registered on the register of corporate donors, and

(ii) a statement is made on behalf of the corporate donor and furnished with the donation to the donee confirming that the making of the donation was approved by the corporate donor.

(2) A statement under subsection (1)(ii) shall be in the form directed by the Standards in Public Office Commission and shall be accompanied by a statutory declaration that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person concerned, 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.

(3) A statement under subsection (1)(ii) and statutory declaration under subsection (2) shall be made by one of the following persons:

(a) in the case of a company, by a director or other officer of the company;

(b) in the case of a body corporate (other than a company) or an unincorporated body of persons, by any officer of the body or any person for the time being performing the functions of an officer of the body;

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a donation shall not be prohibited under that subsection where—

(a) a provider of a programme of education and training, or

(b) the students’ union or other representative body recognised by a provider of a programme of education and training,

makes a payment to a club, society or other body, operating with the permission and on the premises of the provider of a programme of education and training, and every member of which is a student who is enrolled or registered with the provider of a programme of education and training.

(5) Where a corporate donor makes more than one donation—

(a) in the same year to the same member of either House of the Oireachtas, member of the European Parliament, political party, third party or accounting unit, or

(b) in relation to the same Dáil, Seanad, or European election to the same candidate, or in relation to the same referendum or campaign,

all such donations shall, for the purposes of this section, be aggregated and treated as a single donation received by the person concerned and references in subsequent provisions of this section to a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by subsection (1) shall be construed accordingly.

(6) Where, notwithstanding subsection (1) a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by that subsection, is made to a person referred to therein, the donee shall, not later than 14 days after the receipt of the donation either—

(a) return the donation or, in the case of a donation which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned to the corporate donor and keep a written record of that return for the purposes of its being furnished to the Standards in Public Office Commission, if required by it, or

(b) notify the Standards in Public Office Commission of such receipt and remit the donation, or, in the case of a donation which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned or the value thereof, to the Commission.

(7) The Standards in Public Office Commission shall dispose of all moneys, property or goods received under subsection (6) in such manner as may be directed by the Minister for Finance.

(8) In this section—

‘approved by the corporate donor’ means—

(a) that a general meeting, one of the purposes of which is to consider making a donation to which this section applies, has been duly convened and conducted and approval for making the donation has been given in accordance with the rules (whether in writing or not) governing the administration and control of the corporate donor concerned and regulating its activities and such rules shall include—

(i) in the case of a company, the memorandum and articles of association of the company,

(ii) in the case of a body corporate other than a company, the charter, statute, or other like instrument by which it is established,

(iii) in the case of an unincorporated body of persons, the rules (howsoever described) of the body,

(b) that a donation to which this section applies is made by a trustee in accordance with the deed of trust establishing the trust concerned which deed of trust permits the making of such a donation;

‘provider of a programme of education and training’ has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999 .”.

Donations by intermediaries.

11.— The Act of 1997 is amended by inserting the following new section after section 23AA (inserted by section 10 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012):

“23AB.— A person who makes a donation on behalf of another person shall notify in writing—

(a) the member of either House of the Oireachtas,

(b) the member of the European Parliament,

(d) the political party,

(e) the third party, or

(f) the accounting unit,

to whom the donation is made—

(i) that the donation is made on behalf of a person other than the person making the donation, and

(ii) the name, description and postal address of the person on whose behalf the donation is made.”.

Amendment of section 23B of Act of 1997.

12.— Section 23B (inserted by section 49(d) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1997 is amended in subsection (1) by substituting “€100” for “£100”.

Amendment of section 23C of Act of 1997.

13.— Section 23C (inserted by section 49(d) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1997 is amended by substituting “€100” for “£100”.

Registration of corporate donors.

14.— The Act of 1997 is amended by inserting the following section after section 23C (inserted by section 49(d) of the Act of 2001):

“23D.— (1) The Standards in Public Office Commission shall establish and maintain, in such form as it considers appropriate (including electronic form) a register of corporate donors (in this section referred to as the ‘register’).

(2) A corporate donor which intends to make a donation the value of which exceeds €200 in any particular year, to a person referred to in—

(a) paragraphs (a) to (f) of section 23AA(1), (inserted by section 10 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012),

(b) paragraphs (a) to (c) of section 48AA(1), (inserted by section 22 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012), or

(c) paragraph (a) or subparagraphs (i) to (iii) of paragraph (b) of section 19BB(1) of the Act of 1999 (inserted by section 32 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012),

shall apply in accordance with this section to the Standards in Public Office Commission to be entered on the register.

(3) An application under this section shall be in the form directed by the Standards in Public Office Commission (which may include electronic form) and shall—

(a) be in writing,

(b) state the name and address of the corporate donor,

(c) state the name and address of the person responsible for the organisation, management, or financial affairs of the corporate donor,

(d) contain a statement of the purposes for which the corporate donor was formed,

(e) contain a list of each member, shareholder or trustee of the corporate donor as of the 31st day of December preceding the application under this section,

(f) contain, in the case of a corporate donor which was formed on or before the first day of January of the year preceding the application under this section—

(i) a copy of its statement of accounts for that year, and

(ii) if applicable, a copy of the annual report for that year.

(4) An application under this section shall be accompanied by a statutory declaration that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person concerned, the information provided under subsection (3) 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 information.

(5) An application under this section and statutory declaration under subsection (4) shall be made by one of the following persons (in this section referred to as the ‘applicant’):

(a) in the case of a company, by a director or other officer of the company;

(b) in the case of a body corporate other than a company or an unincorporated body of persons, by any other officer of the body or any person for the time being performing the functions of an officer of the body;

(6) The chairperson of the Standards in Public Office Commission or a person appointed by the chairperson (either of whom for the purposes of this section shall be known as an ‘appeals officer’) shall hear an appeal under this section and a person appointed under this subsection shall be so appointed for such period as the chairperson may determine.

(7) (a) An application under this section shall be considered by a member of staff of the Standards in Public Office Commission (who for the purposes of this section shall be known as ‘the decision maker’).

(b) Where the decision maker, following consideration by him or her of an application under this section, finds a minor error or omission in the application, he or she shall notify the applicant of details of the error or omission, as the case may be, and shall inform the applicant that he or she may correct the error or make good the omission not later than 14 days from the date of the notification to the applicant and that any further information so furnished will be considered by the decision maker before making a decision in relation to the application.

(c) Where the decision maker, following consideration by him or her of an application under this section and any further information furnished under paragraph (b), decides to register the corporate donor and enter the information referred to at paragraphs (b) to (f) of subsection (3) on the register, he or she shall, as soon as may be thereafter, notify the applicant in writing of the decision and proceed to register the corporate donor and enter the information on the register.

(d) Where the decision maker, following consideration by him or her of an application under this section and any further information furnished under paragraph (b), decides to refuse the application because—

(i) the application, including the statutory declaration under subsection (4), does not comply with this section, or

(ii) the corporate donor is a body within the meaning of section 19B(2)(b) of the Act of 1999 or section 23A(2)(b) or 48A(2)(b), as the case may be,

the decision maker shall notify the applicant in writing of the decision and the reason therefor and shall inform the applicant that he or she may appeal the decision to an appeals officer not later than 14 days from the date on which the notification issued to the applicant.

(8) (a) Where the applicant appeals the decision of the decision maker, he or she shall do so in writing within the period referred to in subsection (7)(d), and an appeals officer shall consider all information furnished with the original application and any additional information furnished with the appeal.

(b) Following consideration under paragraph (a), the appeals officer shall decide to either—

(i) revoke the decision made under subsection (7)(d) and direct the decision maker to register the corporate donor and enter the information referred to at paragraphs (b) to (f) of subsection (3) on the register, or

(ii) affirm the decision of the decision maker under subsection (7)(d).

(c) The appeals officer, as soon as may be after he or she makes a decision under paragraph (b), shall notify the applicant in writing of the decision and the reason therefor.

(9) If it comes to the knowledge of an applicant that a particular entered in the register relating to a corporate donor is not correct or ceases to be correct, the applicant shall, as soon as may be, inform the Standards in Public Office Commission and the Commission shall make such alteration to the register as it considers necessary.

(10) An application under this section may be made by a corporate donor at any time in a particular year and entry in the register following the application shall be valid for the period up to and including the 31st day of December next following the entry.

(11) A corporate donor entered on the register may apply, not more than 8 weeks before the expiration of the period of validity of the entry on the register under subsection (10), to the Standards in Public Office Commission under this section to be entered on the register for a further year immediately following that expiration and this section shall apply to such an application.

(12) The Standards in Public Office Commission shall in relation to an entry on the register—

(a) make a copy of the entry, including a copy of the documents provided under paragraphs (e) and (f) of subsection (3), available for public inspection without charge at its principal office during normal working hours, and

(b) publish on its website the information received from an applicant under paragraph (b), (c) and (d) of subsection (3).

(13) In subsection (3)(b), ‘address of the corporate donor’ means—

(a) in the case of a company, the address of its registered office,

(b) in the case of a body corporate other than a company or an unincorporated body of persons, the address of its principal office or place of business, or

(c) in the case of a trust, the address of the principal office or place of business or residential address of the trustee.”.

Amendment of section 24 of Act of 1997.

15.— Section 24 of the Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a) of subsection (1)—

(i) by substituting the following subparagraphs for subparagraphs (i) and (ii):

“(i) the value of the donation,

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

and

(ii) by inserting the following subparagraphs after subparagraph (ii):

“(iii) the date on which the donation was received,

(iv) whether the donation was requested from the donor, and if so, the name and postal address of the person who requested the donation, and

(v) whether a receipt issued to the donor in respect of the donation, and if so, the date on which the receipt issued and the name of the person who issued the receipt.”,

(b) in paragraph (a) of subsection (1A) (inserted by section 50(g) of the Act of 2001) by substituting “€1,500” for “£4,000”,

(i) in paragraph (a) by substituting “(i) to (v)” for “(i) and (ii)”, and

(ii) in paragraph (b) by substituting “(i) to (v)” for “(i) and (ii)”,

and

(d) in subsection (4)—

(i) by substituting “€1,500” for “£4,000”, and

(ii) by substituting “€600” for “£500”.

Amendment of section 25 of Act of 1997.

16.— Section 25 of the Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) in paragraph (a) by substituting “section 23, 23A or 23AA” for “section 23 or 23A”, and

(ii) in paragraph (b)—

(I) by substituting “said section 23, 23A or 23AA” for “said section 23 or 23A”, and

(II) by substituting “under section 23A or 23AA” for “under section 23A”,

(b) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (1B) (inserted by section 8 of the Act of 1998):

“(1C) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he or she knowingly furnishes a statement referred to in section 23AA(1)(ii) (inserted by section 10 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012) which is false or misleading in any material respect.

(1D) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he or she knowingly furnishes information to the Standards in Public Office Commission under section 23D (inserted by section 14 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012) which is false or misleading in any material respect.

(1E) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he or she—

(a) contravenes section 23AB (inserted by section 11 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012), or

(b) knowingly furnishes information under section 23AB which is false or misleading in any material respect.”.

(c) in subsection (2)(b) by substituting “subsection (1)(d), (1A)(b), (1C), (1D), or (1E)(b)” for “subsection (1)(d) or (1A)(b)”, and

(d) in subsection (2A) (inserted by section 4(c) of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2002 ) by substituting “section 23, 23A or 23AA” for “section 23 or 23A”.

Amendment of section 26 of Act of 1997.

17.— Section 26 of the Act of 1997 is amended in subsection (1) by substituting “€200” for “£4,000”.

Amendment of section 46 of Act of 1997.

18.— Section 46(2) of the Act of 1997 is amended in paragraph (aa) (inserted by section 49(f) of the Act of 2001) by—

(a) substituting “€100” for “£100” in the definition of “third party”, and

(b) inserting the following definitions:

“ ‘company’ means a company established under the Companies Acts;

‘corporate donor’ means—

(a) a body corporate,

(b) an unincorporated body of persons, or

which makes a donation, and for the purposes of this definition a body corporate and any subsidiary thereof shall be deemed to be one person;”.

Amendment of section 47 of Act of 1997.

19.— Section 47 (amended by section 49(g) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1997 is amended in subsection (1) by substituting “€100” for “£100”.

Amendment of section 48 of Act of 1997.

20.— Section 48 of the Act of 1997 is amended in subsection (1)—

(a) by substituting “€600” for “£500”,

(b) by substituting the following paragraphs for paragraphs (a) and (b):

“(a) the value of the donation,

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

and

“(c) the date on which the donation was received,

(d) whether the donation was requested from the donor, and if so, the name and postal address of the person who requested the donation, and

(e) whether a receipt issued to the donor in respect of the donation, and if so, the date on which the receipt issued and the name of the person who issued the receipt.”.

Amendment of section 48A of Act of 1997.

21.— Section 48A (inserted by section 49(h) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1997 is amended by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Without prejudice to subsection (2), none of the following persons, namely—

(a) a candidate,

(b) a presidential election agent, or

shall directly or through any intermediary, accept from a particular person in a particular year—

(i) a donation the value of which exceeds, in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (a) or (b), €1,000,

(ii) a donation the value of which exceeds, in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (c), €2,500, or

(iii) a donation of cash of an amount which exceeds €200.”.

Limits on donations from corporate donors in relation to presidential elections.

22.— The Act of 1997 is amended by inserting the following section after section 48A (inserted by section 49(h) of the Act of 2001):

“48AA.— (1) None of the following persons namely—

(a) a candidate,

(b) a presidential election agent, or

shall, directly or through any intermediary, accept from a particular corporate donor in a particular year a donation the value of which exceeds €200 unless—

(i) the corporate donor is registered on the register of corporate donors, and

(ii) a statement is made on behalf of the corporate donor and furnished with the donation to the donee confirming that the making of the donation was approved by the corporate donor.

(3) A statement under subsection (1)(ii) and statutory declaration under subsection (2) shall be made by one of the following persons:

(a) in the case of a company, by a director or other officer of the company;

(b) in the case of a body corporate other than a company or an unincorporated body of persons, by any officer of the body or any person for the time being performing the functions of an officer of the body;

(4) Where a corporate donor makes more than one donation in relation to the same presidential election to the same candidate, presidential election agent or third party, all such donations shall, for the purposes of this section, be aggregated and treated as a single donation received by the person concerned and references in subsequent provisions of this section to a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by subsection (1) shall be construed accordingly.

(5) Where, notwithstanding subsection (1) a corporate donation, the acceptance of which is prohibited by that subsection is made to a person, agent or third party, as the case may be, or, in the case of a donation to the first-mentioned person which is made after the appointment by him or her of a presidential election agent, the presidential election agent, shall not later than 14 days after the receipt of the donation either—

(b) notify the Standards in Public Office Commission of such receipt and remit the donation or, in the case of a donation which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned or the value thereof, to the Commission.

(6) The Standards in Public Office Commission shall dispose of all moneys, property or goods received under subsection (5) in such manner as may be directed by the Minister for Finance.

(7) In this section ‘approved by the corporate donor’ means—

(i) in the case of a company, the memorandum and articles of association of the company,

(ii) in the case of a body corporate other than a company, the charter, statute, or other like instrument by which it is established,

(iii) in the case of an unincorporated body of persons, the rules (howsoever described) of the body,

(b) that a donation to which this section applies is made by a trustee in accordance with the deed of trust establishing the trust concerned which deed of trust permits the making of such a donation.”.

Donations by intermediaries at presidential election.

23.— The Act of 1997 is amended by inserting the following new section after section 48AA (inserted by section 22 of the Electoral (Amendment)(Political Funding) Act 2012):

“48AB.— A person who makes a donation on behalf of another person shall notify in writing—

(a) the candidate,

(b) the presidential election agent, or

to whom the donation is made—

(i) that the donation is made on behalf of a person other than the person making the donation, and

(ii) the name, description and postal address of the person on whose behalf the donation is made.”.

Amendment of section 48B of Act of 1997.

24.— Section 48B (inserted by section 49(h) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1997 is amended in subsection (1) by substituting “€100” for “£100”.

Amendment of section 48C of Act of 1997.

25.— Section 48C (inserted by section 49(h) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1997 is amended by substituting “€100” for “£100”.

Amendment of section 61 of Act of 1997.

26.— Section 61 of the Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) in subsection (2) (amended by section 7(c) of the Act of 2011)—

(i) in paragraph (h) by substituting “47, 48A or 48AA” for “47 or 48A”, and

(ii) in paragraph (i)—

(I) by substituting “with section 47, 48A or 48AA” for “with section 47 or 48A”, and

(II) by substituting “under section 48A or 48AA” for “under section 48A”,

(b) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (2):

“(2A) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he or she knowingly furnishes a statement referred to in section 48AA(1)(ii) (inserted by section 22 of the Electoral (Amendment)(Political Funding) Act 2012) which is false or misleading in any material respect.

(2B) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he or she—

(a) contravenes section 48AB (inserted by section 23 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012), or

(b) knowingly furnishes information under section 48AB which is false or misleading in any material respect.”.

and

(c) in subsection (5)(b), by substituting “subsection (2)(d) or (g), subsection (2A), (2B)(b) or subsection (3)(c)” for “subsection 2(d) or (g) or subsection 3(c)”.

Amendment of section 71 of Act of 1997.

27.— Section 71 of the Act of 1997 is amended in subsection (1) by substituting “Parts III, IV, V and IX (inserted by section 41 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012)” for “Parts III, IV and V”.

PART 4

Amendment of the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999

Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1999.

28.— Section 2(1) of the Act of 1999 is amended in the definition of “donation”—

(a) in paragraph (e), by substituting “commercial price,” for “commercial price, and”,

(b) in paragraph (f), by substituting “the event, and” for “the event,”, and

“(g) a payment by the person on their own behalf, or on behalf of one or more than one other person, of a fee or subscription for membership or continued membership of a political party,”.

Amendment of section 13 of Act of 1999.

29.— Section 13 of the Act of 1999 is amended in subparagraph (i) of subsection (1)(c) by substituting “€600” for “£500”.

Amendment of section 19A of Act of 1999.

30.— Section 19A (inserted by section 58(m) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1999 is amended by—

(a) substituting “€100” for “£100” in the definition of “third party”, and

(b) inserting the following definitions:

“ ‘company’ means a company established under the Companies Acts;

‘corporate donor’ means—

(a) a body corporate,

(b) an unincorporated body of persons, or

which makes a donation, and for the purposes of this definition a body corporate and any subsidiary thereof shall be deemed to be one person;

‘register of corporate donors’ means the register established under section 23D (inserted by section 14 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012) of the Act of 1997;”.

Amendment of section 19B of Act of 1999.

31.— Section 19B (inserted by section 58(m) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1999 is amended—

(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) (a) Without prejudice to subsection (2) a candidate at an election shall not, directly or through any intermediary, accept in connection with the election from a particular person—

(i) a donation the value of which exceeds €1,000, or

(ii) a donation of cash of an amount which exceeds €200.

(b) Without prejudice to subsection (2), none of the following persons, namely—

(i) a member of a local authority,

(ii) a political party, or

(iii) a third party,

shall, directly or through any intermediary, accept from a particular person in a particular year—

(I) a donation the value of which exceeds, in case the first-mentioned person falls within subparagraph (i), €1,000,

(II) a donation the value of which exceeds, in case the first-mentioned person falls within subparagraph (ii) or (iii), €2,500, or

(III) a donation of cash of an amount which exceeds €200.”,

and

(b) in subsection (3) by substituting “€1,000 or €2,500” for “£2,000 or £5,000”.

Limits on donations from corporate donors.

32.— The Act of 1999 is amended by inserting the following section after section 19B (inserted by section 58(m) of the Act of 2001):

“19BB.— (1) (a) A candidate at an election shall not, directly or through any intermediary, accept in connection with the election from a particular corporate donor a donation the value of which exceeds €200 unless—

(i) the corporate donor is registered on the register of corporate donors, and

(ii) a statement is made on behalf of the corporate donor and furnished with the donation to the donee confirming that the making of the donation was approved by the corporate donor.

(b) None of the following persons namely—

(i) a member of a local authority,

(ii) a political party, or

(iii) a third party,

shall, directly or through any intermediary, accept from a particular corporate donor in a particular year a donation that exceeds €200 unless—

(I) the corporate donor is registered on the register of corporate donors, and

(II) a statement is made on behalf of the corporate donor and furnished with the donation to the donee confirming that the making of the donation was approved by the corporate donor.

(2) A statement under subparagraph (ii) of subsection (1)(a) or subparagraph (II) of subsection (1)(b) shall be in the form directed by the Standards in Public Office Commission and shall be accompanied by a statutory declaration that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person concerned, 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.

(3) A statement under subparagraph (ii) of subsection (1)(a) or subparagraph (II) of subsection (1)(b) and a statutory declaration referred to in subsection (2) shall be made by one of the following persons:

(a) in the case of a company, by the director or other officer of the company;

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a donation shall not be prohibited under that subsection where—

(a) a provider of a programme of education and training, or

(b) the students’ union or other representative body recognised by a provider of a programme of education and training,

(5) Where a corporate donor makes more than one donation in the same year to the same member of a local authority or, in relation to the same election, plebiscite or campaign, to the same candidate or political party, or, in connection with the same election, plebiscite or campaign, to the same third party, all such donations shall, for the purposes of this section, be aggregated and treated as a single donation received by the person concerned and references in subsequent provisions of this section to a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by subsection (1) shall be construed accordingly.

(6) Where, notwithstanding subsection (1), a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by that subsection, is made to a person referred to therein the donee shall, not later than 14 days after the receipt of the donation, either—

(a) return the donation, or in the case of a donation referred to in subsection (1) which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned, to the corporate donor and keep a written record of that return for the purposes of its being furnished to the local authority concerned, if required by it, or

(b) notify the local authority concerned of such receipt and remit the donation, or in the case of a donation referred to in subsection (1) which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned or the value thereof to the local authority.

(7) A local authority shall dispose of all moneys, property or goods received by it under subsection (6) in such manner as it determines.

(8) In this section—

‘approved by the corporate donor’ means—

(i) in the case of a company, the memorandum and articles of association of the company,

(ii) in the case of a body corporate other than a company, the charter, statute, or other like instrument by which it is established,

(iii) in the case of an unincorporated body of persons, the rules (howsoever described) of the body,

(b) that a donation to which this section applies is made by a trustee in accordance with the deed of trust establishing the trust concerned which deed of trust permits the making of such a donation;

‘provider of a programme of education and training’ has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999 .”.

Donations by intermediaries.

33.— The Act of 1999 is amended by inserting the following new section after section 19BB (inserted by section 32 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012):

“19BC.— (1) A person who makes a donation on behalf of another person shall notify in writing the candidate at an election to whom the donation is made—

(a) that the donation is made on behalf of a person other than the person making the donation, and

(b) the name, description and postal address of the person on whose behalf the donation is made.

(2) A person who makes a donation on behalf of another person shall notify in writing—

(a) the member of a local authority,

(b) the political party, or

to whom the donation is made—

(i) that the donation is made on behalf of a person other than the person making the donation, and

(ii) the name, description and postal address of the person on whose behalf the donation is made.”.

Amendment of section 19C of Act of 1999.

34.— Section 19C (inserted by section 58(m) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1999 is amended in subsection (1) by inserting “19BB,” after “19B,”.

Amendment of section 19D of Act of 1999.

35.— Section 19D (inserted by section 58(m) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1999 is amended in subsection (1) by substituting “€100” for “£100”.

Amendment of section 19E of Act of 1999.

36.— Subsection (1) of section 19E (inserted by section 58(m) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1999 is amended—

(a) by substituting “€600” for “£500”,

(b) by substituting the following subparagraphs for subparagraphs (i) and (ii):

“(i) the value of the donation,

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

and

“(iii) the date on which the donation was received,

(iv) whether the donation was requested from the donor, and if so, the name and postal address of the person who requested the donation, and

(v) whether a receipt issued to the donor in respect of the donation, and if so, the date on which the receipt issued and the name of the person who issued the receipt.”.

Amendment of section 19F of Act of 1999.

37.— Section 19F (inserted by section 58(m) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1999 is amended in subsection (1) by substituting “€100” for “£100”.

Amendment of section 19G of Act of 1999.

38.— Section 19G (inserted by section 58(m) of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1999 is amended by substituting “€100” for “£100”.

Amendment of section 21 of Act of 1999.

39.— Section 21 of the Act of 1999 is amended—

(a) in subsection (4B) (inserted by section 58(o) of the Act of 2001)—

(i) in paragraph (a) by substituting “section 19B, 19BB or 19F” for “section 19B or 19F”,

(ii) in paragraph (b) by substituting “section 19B, 19BB or 19F” for “section 19B or 19F”, and

(iii) by inserting the following new paragraphs after paragraph (b):

“(bb) knowingly furnishes a statement referred to in subparagraph (ii) of section 19BB(1)(a) or clause (II) of section 19BB(1)(b) (inserted by section 32 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012) which is false or misleading in any material respect,

(bc) contravenes section 19BC(1) or (2) (inserted by section 33 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012),

(bd) knowingly furnishes information under section 19BC(1) or (2) which is false or misleading in any material respect,”,

and

(b) in subsection (5) (amended by section 8(e) of the Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2009 )—

(i) in paragraph (a) by substituting “or section 19B, 19BB, 19BC, 19D,” for “or section 19B, 19D”, and

(ii) in paragraph (a)(ii) by substituting “(4A)(b), (4B)(bb), (4B)(bd), or (4B)(d)” for “(4A)(b), or (4B)(d)”.

PART 5

Political Parties — Disclosure of Accounts

Amendment of section 19 of Act of 1997.

40.— (1) Section 19 of the Act of 1997 is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (4):

“(5) No payments shall be made under this section from the first day of January in any year unless and until—

(a) an annual statement of accounts and a copy of the auditor’s report is furnished in accordance with section 87 to the Standards in Public Office Commission, and

(b) the Standards in Public Office Commission has in accordance with section 88(4) notified the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform that it is satisfied that the relevant annual statement of accounts complies with Part IX and the guidelines under section 89.”.

(2) Subsection (1) shall come into operation on the 31st day of December following the end of the period specified in subsection (3) of section 86 of the Act of 1997 in respect of the first accounts required to be audited under that section.

Political parties — disclosure of accounts.

41.— The Act of 1997 is amended by inserting the following new Part after Part VIII:

“PART IX

Political parties — disclosure of accounts

Interpretation (Part IX).

83.— In this Part—

‘annual statement of accounts’ shall be construed in accordance with section 85;

‘Commission’ means the Standards in Public Office Commission;

‘financial year’ means a period of 12 months ending on 31 December;

‘guidelines’ means guidelines published by the Commission under section 89.

Duty to keep proper books of accounts.

84.— (1) The appropriate officer of a political party shall keep, or cause to be kept in such form, including electronic form, as may be set out in guidelines, all proper and usual books of accounts of the political party concerned.

(2) Books of accounts kept under subsection (1) shall—

(a) disclose at any time, with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the political party at that time, and

(b) enable the appropriate officer to ensure that the annual statement of accounts complies with the guidelines.

(3) Books of accounts kept under subsection (1) shall be preserved by the appropriate officer for a period of not less than 6 years from the end of the financial year to which they relate.

(4) Where a political party ceases to be registered under section 25 of the Act of 1992 during the period of 6 years referred to in subsection (3), the obligation to ensure that books of accounts are preserved under that subsection shall continue to be discharged by the last appropriate officer of the political party unless the Commission consents in writing to the records being destroyed, or disposed of in some other manner.

Annual statement of accounts.

85.— (1) The appropriate officer shall prepare a statement of accounts (in this Part referred to as the ‘annual statement of accounts’) in respect of the political party concerned in respect of each financial year.

(2) The annual statement of accounts shall—

(a) comply with such requirements as to its form and contents as may be provided for in guidelines, and

(b) be approved by the executive committee or similar body elected by the party.

Annual audit of accounts.

86.— (1) The accounts of a political party in respect of a financial year shall be audited by a public auditor.

(2) The first accounts required to be audited under subsection (1) shall be in respect of the first financial year which commences after guidelines are published.

(3) An audit under this section shall be carried out by the end of the period of 6 months from the end of the financial year to which the relevant accounts relate.

(4) If it appears to the Commission that any accounts required to be audited under subsection (1) have not been duly audited within the period specified in subsection (3), the Commission may appoint a public auditor to audit the accounts.

(5) The expenses incurred in the carrying out of an audit by a person appointed under subsection (4), including the auditor’s remuneration, may be recovered by the Commission as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction from the political party concerned.

(6) In this section ‘public auditor’ means a public auditor for the purposes of the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1893 to 1978 and the Friendly Societies Acts 1896 to 1977.

Annual statement of accounts etc. to be furnished to Commission.

87.— (1) The appropriate officer shall, no later than the end of the period provided for in section 86(3), furnish to the Commission—

(a) the annual statement of accounts, and

(b) a copy of the auditor’s report (unless the auditor was appointed by the Commission under section 86(4)),

of the political party concerned.

(2) The Commission may at the request of the appropriate officer, by written notice extend the period specified in subsection (1) by such further period, not exceeding 14 days, as it considers appropriate.

(3) Documents furnished to the Commission under this section shall be kept by the Commission for such period as it thinks fit.

Review by Commission.

88.— (1) The Commission shall consider every annual statement of accounts and auditor’s report furnished to it under section 87 and, where it considers it appropriate to do so, shall furnish a report in writing to the Chairman of the Dáil on any matter arising in relation to such statement or report.

(2) Where the Commission, following consideration by it of an annual statement of accounts furnished to it under section 87, finds a minor error or omission in the statement, the Commission shall furnish to the appropriate officer by whom the statement was furnished details of the error or omission, as the case may be, and the Commission shall inform the appropriate officer that he or she may correct the error or make good the omission within the period of 14 days from the date on which the notification issued to the appropriate officer concerned.

(3) (a) Where the Commission, following consideration by it of an annual statement of accounts furnished to it under section 87, is of the opinion that the statement of accounts does not comply with the guidelines, the Commission shall furnish to the appropriate officer a written notice containing details of the non-compliance and the Commission shall inform the appropriate officer that he or she may furnish comments on the matter to the Commission within 14 days from the date on which the notice issued to the appropriate officer and that any such comments will be considered by the Commission before considering the matter further.

(b) Where the appropriate officer furnishes to the Commission his or her comments on the matter referred to in the notice furnished under paragraph (a) within the period referred to in that paragraph, the Commission shall have regard to the said comments.

(c) Where, following consideration of any comments received by the Commission under paragraph (a), or where the appropriate officer fails to make any comments under that paragraph, and the Commission continues to be of the opinion that there may have been non-compliance with the guidelines it shall report the matter (together with any relevant document or other thing in its possession) to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Chairman of the Dáil.

(4) Where the Commission is satisfied that the annual statement of accounts complies with this Part and with the guidelines, the Commission shall notify the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform accordingly.

(5) The Commission may make such inquiries as it considers appropriate and may require any person to furnish any information, document or thing in the possession or procurement of the person which the Commission may require for the performance of its functions under this Part.

(6) Where the appropriate officer fails to comply with section 87, the Commission shall—

(a) furnish a statement to that effect to the Chairman of the Dáil and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and

(b) publish details of the non-compliance on the Commission’s website.

Guidelines.

89.— (1) For the purpose of providing practical guidance to political parties with respect to keeping proper books of accounts and preparing the annual statement of accounts and auditor’s report, the Commission shall prepare and publish guidelines.

(2) Before publishing guidelines under this section, the Commission—

(a) shall obtain the consent of the Minister,

(b) may publish in such manner as the Commission considers appropriate a draft of the guidelines and shall give persons 28 days from the date of publication of the draft guidelines within which to make written representations to the Commission in relation to the draft guidelines, or such further period, not exceeding 28 days, as the Commission in its absolute discretion thinks fit, and

(c) following consultation and, where relevant, having considered the representations, if any, made, shall submit the draft guidelines to the Minister for his or her consent to its publication under this section, with or without modification.

(3) Where the Commission publishes guidelines, it shall publish a notice of such publication in Iris Oifigiúil and that notice shall—

(a) identify the guidelines,

(b) specify the matters relating to the books of accounts and the annual statement of accounts in respect of which the guidelines are published, and

(4) The Commission may, with the consent of the Minister, and following consultation with any other person or body that the Commission considers appropriate or that the Minister directs, amend or revoke any guidelines prepared and published by it under this section.

(5) Where the Commission amends or revokes guidelines published under this section, it shall publish notice of the amendment or revocation, as the case may be, in Iris Oifigiúil.

(6) The Commission shall, as soon as practicable after it publishes guidelines—

(a) furnish a copy of the guidelines, and where guidelines have been amended, a copy of the guidelines so amended, to each political party, and

(b) make available for public inspection, without charge, at its principal office during normal working hours and on the Commission’s website—

(i) a copy of the guidelines, and

(ii) where guidelines have been amended, a copy of the guidelines so amended.

Public inspection of annual statements of accounts.

90.— As soon as reasonably practicable after receiving an annual statement of accounts and auditor’s report under section 87 the Commission shall make a copy of the statement and report available for public inspection, without charge, at its principal office during normal working hours and on the Commission’s website.”.

PART 6

State Funding of Political Parties and Gender Balance

Amendment of section 17 of Act of 1997.

42.— Section 17 of the Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) in subparagraph (i) of subsection (2)(b) by substituting:

(i) “general increase or decrease” for “general increase”, and

(ii) “shall be increased or decreased” for “shall be increased”,

(b) in subsection (4)—

(i) by substituting the following paragraphs for paragraphs (b) and (c):

“(b) the name of each candidate elected,

(c) the name of each candidate who was not elected to whom the greatest number of votes credited at any stage of the counting of votes exceeds one quarter of the quota, and”,

and

(ii) by inserting the following new paragraph after paragraph (c):

“(d) the gender of each candidate,”,

and

“(4B) (a) Payments calculated in accordance with this Part shall be reduced by 50 per cent, unless at least 30 per cent of the candidates whose candidatures were authenticated by the qualified party at the preceding general election were women and at least 30 per cent were men.

(b) Paragraph (a)—

(i) comes into operation on the polling day at the general election held next after section 42 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012 comes into operation, and

(ii) ceases to have effect on the polling day at the general election held next after the expiration of 7 years from the polling day specified in subparagraph (i).

(c) Payments calculated in accordance with this Part shall be reduced by 50 per cent, unless at least 40 per cent of the candidates whose candidatures were authenticated by the qualified party at the preceding general election were women and at least 40 per cent were men.

(d) Paragraph (c) comes into operation on the day after the day on which paragraph (a) ceases to have effect.”.

Amendment of section 46 of Act of 1992.

43.— Section 46 (amended by section 1(a) of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2007 ) of the Act of 1992 is amended by substituting the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) Each nomination paper shall state the names (the surname being stated first), the address, the occupation (if any) and the gender of the candidate.”.

Amendment of section 127 of Act of 1992.

44.— Section 127 of the Act of 1992 is amended in subsection (1) by inserting “, of the gender of each candidate” after “in the case of a contested election”.

ELECTORAL REFORM ACT 2022

PART 7

Amendment of Electoral Act 1997 – Political donations and accounts

Definition

179. In this Part, “Principal Act” means the Electoral Act 1997 .

Amendment of section 2 of Principal Act

180. Section 2(1) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “property”:

“ ‘property’, other than in Part IX, means real and personal property;”.

Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act

181. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (1)—

(a) by the insertion of “23C,” after “23B,”, and

(b) by the insertion of “48C,” after “48B,”.

Amendment of section 4 of Principal Act

182. Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (3), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (c)—

“(c) Where, following consideration of any comments which the person to whom a notification issues under paragraph (a), or where such person fails to make any such comments, the Standards in Public Offices Commission continues to be of the opinion that there may have been a contravention of a provision of Part IV, V or VI or regulations made under section 72, it shall consider—

(i) whether, in the opinion of the Standards in Public Office Commission, there is evidence sufficient to justify the bringing of proceedings in relation to an offence for a contravention of the provisions of Part IV, V or VI or regulations made under section 72, or

(ii) where there is not sufficient evidence, whether to direct the carrying out of an investigation by an authorised officer under section 4B(1).”.

Powers of investigation

183. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 4A:

“4B. (1) Notwithstanding subsections (3), (4), (4A), (4B) and (4C) of section 4, where the Standards in Public Office Commission reasonably believes that a person may have committed or may be committing a contravention of Parts IV, V, VI or IX, the Standards in Public Office Commission may direct the carrying out of an investigation by an authorised officer under this section.

(2) The Standards in Public Office Commission may appoint such and so many persons as it may determine (each of whom is referred to in this section as an ‘authorised officer’) to carry out investigations under this section.

(3) The Standards in Public Office Commission shall furnish an authorised officer with an authorisation and, when carrying out an investigation under this section, an authorised officer shall, if requested to do so by any person affected by the investigation, produce to the person the authorisation or a copy of it together with a form of personal identification.

(4) An authorised officer may, for the purposes of carrying out an investigation under this section—

(a) require any person to provide any information or explanation which the authorised officer may reasonably require for the purposes of the investigation,

(b) require any person to produce any document or other thing of which the person has control, or to which the person has access, and which the authorised officer may reasonably require for the purposes of the investigation,

(c) require any person to attend before the authorised officer to answer questions, and to make a declaration of the truth of the answers to the questions, for the purposes of the investigation,

(d) subject to subsection (5), enter and search (if necessary accompanied by a member of the Garda Síochána) any premises at, on or in which the authorised officer reasonably believes there may be any document or other thing which the authorised officer may reasonably require for the purposes of the investigation,

(e) inspect and take copies of, or extracts from, any document or other thing produced in compliance with a requirement under paragraph (b) or found on a search under paragraph (d) or pursuant to a warrant under subsection (6),

(f) require a person to make available in a legible form any documents so produced or found otherwise than in a legible form, or

(g) require a person to give to the authorised officer such assistance as the authorised officer may reasonably require for the purposes of the investigation and make available to the authorised officer such reasonable facilities as are necessary for the authorised officer to exercise his or her powers.

(5) An authorised officer shall not enter a dwelling when carrying out an investigation under this section otherwise than—

(a) with the consent of the occupier, or

(b) pursuant to a warrant under subsection (6).

(6) If a judge of the District Court is satisfied on the sworn information of an authorised officer that there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is in, on or at any premises any document or other thing which the authorised officer may reasonably require for the purposes of an investigation under this section, the judge may issue a warrant authorising a named person at any time or times within one month from the date of issue of the warrant, on production (if so requested) of the warrant, to enter and search the premises using reasonable force where necessary, and exercise all or any of the powers conferred on an authorised officer.

(7) A warrant under subsection (6) may permit the person authorised by it to be accompanied by such members of the Garda Síochána or other persons as the person authorised by the warrant considers necessary.

(8) An authorised officer may, if authorised by the Standards in Public Office Commission to do so, make interim reports to the Commission while carrying out an investigation under this section.

(9) As soon as reasonably practicable after the conclusion of an investigation under this section the authorised officer by whom the investigation was carried out shall give to the Standards in Public Office Commission a copy of a report stating the findings of the investigation and the authorised officer’s conclusions on the findings together with his or her reasons for making them and the Commission shall consider the authorised officer’s report and, if it is satisfied that a contravention is taking or has taken place, may bring summary proceedings in respect of an offence under Parts IV, V, VI or IX.

(10) A statement or admission made by a person pursuant to a requirement under subsection (4) shall not be admissible in evidence in proceedings brought against that person for an offence (other than for an offence under sections 25(1)(d), 25(1A)(b), 25(1B)(a), 25(1C), 25(1D), 25(1E)(b), 25(1F), 43(2)(d), 43(3)(c), 61(2)(d), 61(2)(g), 61(2A), 61(2B)(b), 61(3)(c) and 92(1)(d)).

(11) The production of a document or other thing in compliance with a requirement under subsection (4) does not prejudice a person’s lien on the document or other thing.

(12) Nothing in this section shall operate to require a person to provide to an authorised officer any information or explanation, or to produce to an authorised officer any documents or other things, that he or she would be entitled to refuse to provide or produce on the grounds of legal professional privilege.

(13) An authorised officer shall not disclose any information obtained under this section otherwise than in a report under this section.

(14) In this section ‘premises’ includes vessel, aircraft, vehicle and any other means of transport, as well as land and any other fixed or moveable structure.”.

Amendment of section 22 of Principal Act

184. Section 22 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “a body or association (including a body or association that has an office outside the State), which” for “a body or association, which”,

(b) in paragraph (a) of subsection (2), by the substitution of “given within or outside the State for political purposes by any person (including a subsidiary organisation that has an office outside the State)” for “given for political purposes by any person”,

(i) by the insertion of the following definition:

“ ‘cryptocurrency’ means any form of digital currency that is not regulated, and in relation to which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of monies;”,

(ii) by the deletion of paragraph (d) of the definition of “institution”, and

(iii) by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraphs (e) and (f) of the definition of “institution”:

“(e) An Post,

(f) a credit institution authorised in accordance with the European Union (Capital Requirements) Regulations 2014 ( S.I. No. 158 of 2014 ) to carry on business in the State, or

(g) a credit union registered as such under the Credit Union Act 1997 ;”,

(d) in paragraph (b) of subsection (2)—

(i) in clause (I) of subparagraph (iii), by the substitution of “the individual’s profession and provided that the individual is not, directly or indirectly, paid by any other person for that service or to facilitate the provision of the service” for “the individual’s profession”,

(ii) in clause (II) of subparagraph (iii), by the substitution of “political party (other than an individual in the employment of a subsidiary organisation of that party that has an office outside the State)” for “political party”,

(iii) in subparagraph (vi), by the deletion of “candidate authenticated by the political party at a Dáil or European election,”,

(iv) in subparagraph (vii), by the substitution of “or funds provided to such candidate by the political party in relation to those expenses,” for “other than a donation of money;”,

(v) by the insertion of the following subparagraphs after subparagraph (vii):

“(viii) election expenses incurred by a political party on behalf of a candidate authenticated by the political party at a Dáil or European election or funds provided to such candidate by the political party in relation to those expenses, or

(ix) any payment, contribution or supply of goods or services (without payment or other consideration or at less than the commercial price) given outside the State by a person to a political party and accepted by that political party in accordance with the laws of the state in which it is accepted and, where it is a monetary payment or contribution, is kept or retained in a separate designated fund;”.

Amendment of section 23A of Principal Act

185. Section 23A of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (1)—

(a) in paragraph (ii), by the substitution of “€2,500,” for “€2,500, or”,

(b) in paragraph (iii), by the substitution of “€200, or” for “€200.”, and

“(iv) a donation of whatever value in the form of cryptocurrency.”.

Party leader’s statement

186. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 24A:

“24B. (1) Not later than 31 March in every year, the leader of each political party, which, in the preceding year, had members in either House of the Oireachtas or, as the case may be, in the European Parliament, shall furnish to the Standards in Public Office Commission a written statement, in the form directed by the Commission, in respect of the preceding year, indicating the value of each donation received by the political party from outside the State (if any), whether in cash or in kind, exceeding €100 in value and confirming that each such donation (including all contributions) has been included in the written statement for that year.

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

(3) It shall be the duty of every party leader who is required by this section to furnish a party leader’s statement and make a statutory declaration to make such enquiries and maintain such records as are necessary for the purpose of furnishing the said statement and making the declaration.”.

Amendment of section 25 of Principal Act

187. Section 25 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (1E):

“(1F) A person who fails to furnish a statement under section 24B(1), or a statutory declaration under section 24B(2), or who knowingly furnishes a statement under section 24B(1) or statutory declaration under section 24B(2) which is false or misleading in any material respect, shall be guilty of an offence.

(1G) A person who—

(a) fails to notify the Standards in Public Office Commission of the receipt of a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by section 23, 23A or 23AA,

(b) (i) fails to remit to the Standards in Public Office Commission a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by section 23 or 23A(2), or in the case of a donation referred to in section 23A(1) or 23AA(1) which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned or the value thereof, to the Commission, or

(ii) fails to return to the donor the donation referred to in section 23A(1) or 23AA(1) or that part of the donation exceeding the limit,

(c) fails to furnish the statement of an institution, certificate or statutory declaration referred to in section 23B or furnish the donation statement or make the statutory declaration referred to in section 24(3) to the Standards in Public Office Commission,

(d) fails to furnish the statement referred to in section 24(1A) or make the statutory declaration referred to in section 24(3) to the Standards in Public Office Commission, or

(e) (i) fails to notify the Standards in Public Office Commission of the receipt of a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by section 24A(2), or

(ii) fails to remit a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by section 24A(2), or its value, to the Commission,

shall be guilty of an offence.”,

(b) in paragraph (b) of subsection (2), by the substitution of “(1D), (1E)(b) or (1G)” for “(1D) or (1E)(b)”, and

“(3) Summary proceedings for an offence under this section may be brought and prosecuted by the Standards in Public Office Commission.”.

Amendment of section 31 of Principal Act

188. Section 31 of the Principal Act is amended, in paragraph (a) of subsection (1), by the substitution of “In this Part and in section 22 ‘election expenses’ means” for “In this Part ‘election expenses’ means”.

Amendment of section 43 of Principal Act

189. Section 43 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2), by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (e):

“(e) fails otherwise to comply with the provisions of section 36, or

(f) fails to furnish to the Standards in Public Office Commission the statement of election expenses or the statutory declaration referred to in section 36.”,

(b) in subsection (3), by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (d):

“(d) fails otherwise to comply with the provisions of section 36, or

(e) fails to furnish to the Standards in Public Office Commission the statement of election expenses or the statutory declaration referred to in section 36.”,

(c) in paragraph (b) of subsection (5), by the substitution of “subsection (2)(a), (2)(d), (2)(f), (3)(c) or (3)(e)” for “subsection (2)(d) or (3)(c)”, and

(d) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (7):

“(7) Summary proceedings for an offence under this section may be brought and prosecuted by the Standards in Public Office Commission.”.

Amendment of section 46 of Principal Act

190. Section 46 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by the insertion of the following definition:

“‘cryptocurrency’ means any form of digital currency that is not regulated, and in relation to which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of monies;”,

and

(b) in paragraph (aa) of subsection (2)—

(i) by the deletion of paragraph (d) of the definition of “institution”, and

(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraphs (e) and (f) of the definition of “institution”:

“(e) An Post,

(f) credit institution authorised in accordance with the European Union (Capital Requirements) Regulations 2014 ( S.I. No. 158 of 2014 ) to carry on business in the State, or

(g) a credit union registered as such under the Credit Union Act 1997 ;”.

Amendment of section 48A of Principal Act

191. Section 48A of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (1)—

(a) in paragraph (ii), by the substitution of “€2,500,” for “€2,500, or”,

(b) in paragraph (iii), by the substitution of “€200, or” for “€200.”, and

“(iv) a donation of whatever value in the form of cryptocurrency.”.

Amendment of section 61 of Principal Act

192. Section 61 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2B):

“(2C) A person who—

(a) fails to furnish the statement of election expenses or the statutory declaration referred to in section 56 to the Standards in Public Office Commission,

(b) fails to furnish the presidential election donation statement or make the statutory declaration referred to in section 48 or the statement of an institution, certificate or statutory declaration referred to in section 48B to the Standards in Public Office Commission,

(c) fails to notify the Standards in Public Office Commission of the receipt of a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by section 47, 48A or 48AA,

(d) (i) fails to remit to the Standards in Public Office Commission a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by section 47 or 48A(2), or in the case of a donation referred to in section 48A(1) or 48AA(1) which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned or the value thereof, to the Commission, or

(ii) fails to return to the donor the donation referred to in section 48A(1) or 48AA(1) or that part of the donation exceeding the limit,

shall be guilty of an offence.”,

(b) in subsection (3), by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (d):

“(d) fails otherwise to comply with the provisions of section 56,

(e) fails to furnish the statement of election expenses or the statutory declaration referred to in section 56 to the Standards in Public Office Commission.”,

(c) in paragraph (b) of subsection (5), by the substitution of “subsection (2)(a), (2)(d), (2)(g), (2A), (2B)(b), (2C), (3)(c) or (3)(e)” for “subsection (2)(d) or (g), subsection (2A), (2B)(b) or subsection (3)(c)”, and

(d) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (7):

“(7) Summary proceedings for an offence under this section may be brought and prosecuted by the Standards in Public Office Commission.”.

Fixed payment notices

193. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section:

“82A. (1) Where a person commits an offence under a relevant provision, the Standards in Public Office Commission may serve a notice (in this section referred to as a ‘fixed payment notice’) on the person.

(2) The fixed payment notice shall—

(a) be in a form directed by the Minister,

(b) state that the person is alleged to have committed an offence under the relevant provision concerned,

(d) state that, if the fixed payment is paid to the Commission by the date specified in it, a prosecution in respect of the offence under the relevant provision concerned will not be initiated, and

(e) contain details of how the fixed payment is to be paid.

(3) The fixed payment notice may be served on the person:

(a) by sending it to the person by electronic means to an email address, fax number or other electronic contact point used by the person for receiving emails, faxes or other electronic messages and a record that the email, fax or other electronic message has been sent to the person is made for the sender by the email system, fax machine or other electronic system used;

(b) by delivering it to the person;

(i) in the case of an individual, the address at which the individual ordinarily resides or any other address provided by the individual for the purposes of this section,

(ii) in the case of a company, its registered office, or

(iii) in the case of any other body corporate or unincorporated body, its principal office or place of business.

(4) The fixed payment is €200.

(5) No prosecution in respect of the offence under the relevant provision shall be initiated against the person—

(a) until after the date specified in the fixed payment notice as that by which the fixed payment is to be paid, or

(b) at all, if the fixed payment is paid to the Standards in Public Office Commission before that date.

(6) The amount of any fixed payment received by the Standards in Public Office Commission under this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer as the Minister for Finance directs.

(7) In this section, ‘relevant provision’ means section 25(1)(c), 25(1A)(a), 43(2)(c) (insofar as it relates to section 36(1)(a)), 43(3)(b), 61(2)(c), 61(2)(f), 61(3)(b) or 92(1)(c).”.

Amendment of section 83 of Principal Act

194. Section 83 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following definitions:

“‘FRS 102’ means the accounting standard entitled ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’, issued by the Financial Reporting Council Limited (being a body prescribed under the Companies Act 2014 (Accounting Standards) (Prescribed Body) Regulations 2018 ( S.I. No. 84 of 2018 ));

‘property’, in relation to any political party, and its subsidiary organisations, means all land and buildings (whether situate within or outside the State), owned or controlled by the party or subsidiaryorganisation concerned—

(a) which supports the political and promotional activities of the political party, its elected members, party officials or party members either within or outside the State,

(b) which benefits, either directly or indirectly, the political party, its elected members, party officials or party members in promoting the policies, aims and objectives of the political party either within or outside the State,

(c) any income derived from which is used to promote, either directly or indirectly, the political party, its elected members or candidates standing for election on behalf of that party, or

(d) which is effectively controlled by the political party, its elected members, party officials or party members, for the benefit of the party;

‘subsidiary organisation’ in relation to any political party, means a body or association (including a body or association that has an office outside the State) which—

(a) forms part of such political party,

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

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

(b) by the substitution of “section 89;” for “section 89.” in the definition of “guidelines”.

Amendment of section 84 of Principal Act

195. Section 84 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by the insertion of “and of each of its subsidiary organisations” after “concerned”,

(b) in subsection (2)—

(i) in paragraph (a)—

(I) by the insertion of “, and of each of its subsidiary organisations,” after “party”, and

(II) by the substitution of “time,” for “time, and”,

and

(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (b):

“(b) be furnished by each subsidiary organisation to the appropriate officer within the period of 3 months from the end of the financial year to which the relevant books of accounts relate, and

Amendment of section 85 of Principal Act

196. Section 85 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Subject to section 91(1), the appropriate officer shall prepare a statement of accounts for the political party concerned and itssubsidiary organisations (in this Part referred to as the ‘annual statement of accounts’) in respect of each financial year.”,

and

(b) in subsection (2), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) (i) comply with such requirements as to its form and contents (including any requirements provided for under FRS 102) as may be provided for in guidelines,

(ii) include a breakdown of the aggregate amount of donations received by the political party and each of its subsidiary organisations as provided for in guidelines, and

(iii) include all property within the ownership of the political party, and its subsidiary organisations, whether mortgaged, charged, alienated or otherwise encumbered,

and”.

Amendment of section 86 of Principal Act

197. Section 86 of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Subject to section 91(1) and (2), the annual statement of accounts of a political party, and of each of its subsidiary organisations, in respect of a financial year shall be audited by a statutory auditor.”.

Amendment of section 88 of Principal Act

198. Section 88 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (3)—

(i) by the insertion, in paragraph (a), of “(including any requirements under FRS 102)” after “guidelines”,

(ii) by the insertion, in paragraph (c), of “(including any requirements under FRS 102)” after “guidelines”, and

(iii) by the insertion of “and on the outcome of any prosecution that may have been instigated under section 92” after “in its possession)”,

(b) in subsection (4), by the insertion of “(including any requirements under FRS 102)” after “guidelines”, and

(c) in paragraph (b) of subsection (6), by the insertion of “and on the outcome of any prosecution that may have been instigated under section 92” after “non-compliance”.

Amendment of Principal Act – insertion of sections 91 and 92

199. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following sections after section 90:

“

Subsidiary organisations

91. (1) Where a subsidiary organisation of a political party has—

(a) an income of €15,000 or less in a calendar year, or

(b) holds cash or similar assets, land or buildings of less than €40,000 in value at any time during a calendar year,

sections 85(1), 86(1) and 87(1) shall not apply and the appropriate officer of the political party shall not be required to prepare an annual statement of accounts for that subsidiary organisation.

(2) Where a subsidiary organisation of a political party—

(a) has an income greater than €15,000 but less than €40,000 in a calendar year,

(b) holds cash or similar assets, land or buildings valued at greater than €40,000 but less than €100,000 in value at any time during a calendar year, or

sections 86(1) and 87(1)(b) shall not apply and the annual statement of accounts for that subsidiary organisation shall not be required to be audited by a statutory auditor.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, where a subsidiary organisation of a political party—

(a) has income greater than €40,000 in a calendar year,

(b) holds cash or similar assets, land or buildings greater than €100,000 in value, or

the requirements of sections 85(1), 86(1) and 87(1) shall apply to that subsidiary organisation and the appropriate officer of the political party shall be required to prepare an annual statement of accounts for that subsidiary organisation and those annual statements of accounts shall be audited by a statutory auditor.

(4) For the purposes of calculating the amounts specified in subsections (1), (2) and (3), transfers, between a political party and a subsidiary organisation or between one subsidiary organisation and another subsidiary organisation of a political party, shall be excluded so as to avoid the double counting of such transfers.

Offences and penalties

92. (1) The appropriate officer shall be guilty of an offence if he or she—

(a) fails to keep, or cause to be kept, all proper and usual books of accounts under section 84,

(b) fails to prepare an annual statement of accounts in respect of each financial year under section 85,

(c) fails to furnish an annual statement of accounts and a copy of the auditor’s report no later than the end of the period provided for in section 87,

(d) fails to furnish an annual statement of accounts and a copy of the auditor’s report to the Standards in Public Office Commission, or

(e) knowingly furnishes a statement of accounts to the Standards in Public Office Commission which is false or misleading in any material respect.

(2) It shall be a defence to proceedings for an offence under this section for the person charged with the offence to show that he or she took all reasonable steps to avoid the commission of the offence.

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

(a) the person shall be liable on summary conviction to a class D fine,

(b) the person shall be liable, where the offence is an offence referred to in paragraphs (b), (d) or (e) of subsection (1), on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €25,000 to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 years or to both, and

(c) where the conviction relates to a failure to furnish an annual statement of accounts and a copy of the auditor’s report referred to in section 87, 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.

(4) Summary proceedings for an offence under this section may be brought and prosecuted by the Standards in Public Office Commission. ”.