Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001

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PART 4

Principal Amendments of Act of 1997 in relation to Political Donations

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:

“Limits on donation amounts.

23A.—(1) Without prejudice to subsection (2), none of the following persons, namely—

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

(b) a representative in 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 a donation the value of which exceeds—

(i) in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (a), (b), or (c), £2,000, and

(ii) in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (d), (e), or (f), £5,000.

(2) None of the persons referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (f) of 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 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) Where a person makes more than one donation—

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

(ii) 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.

(4) 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.

(5) 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 Public Offices Commission, if required by it, or

(b) notify the Public Offices Commission 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 Commission.

Political donations accounts.

23B.—(1) A member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament, a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election, a political party, a third party or an accounting unit who or which 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 or it to that account.

(2) As soon as may be after the commencement of section 49 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001, and from time to time thereafter as circumstances require, the appropriate officer of a political party referred to in section 71 shall, if the party is one to which subsection (1) applies, notify the Public Offices Commission of the name and address of each accounting unit of the political party and the name of the responsible person or persons of the accounting unit.

(3) A member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a political party shall ensure that a donation statement furnished by him or her or it under section 24 to the Public Offices Commission is accompanied by—

(a) a statement provided by the institution referred to in subsection (1) with which he or she or it has opened the account referred to therein specifying the transactions that have taken place in relation to the account during the year preceding the year in which the said donation statement is furnished, and

(b) a certificate in a form directed by the Public Offices Commission signed by the member, representative or an officer of the political party, as the case may be, stating that all monetary donations received by the member, representative or political party during the preceding year were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for political purposes.

(4) An unsuccessful candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election shall ensure that a donation statement furnished by him or her under section 24 to the Public Offices Commission 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 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 a form directed by the Public Offices Commission, signed by him or her stating that all monetary donations received by him or her during the said period were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for political purposes.

(5) Not later than 31 March in every year, the responsible person of a third party or of an accounting unit shall furnish to the Public Offices Commission a statement provided by the institution referred to in subsection (1) with which the third party or accounting unit 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 Commission, signed by him or her stating that all monetary donations received by the third party or accounting unit during the preceding year were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for political purposes.

(6) The certificate furnished pursuant to subsection (3), (4) or (5) 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 certificate 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.

(7) If a person to whom subsection (3) or (4), other than a political party, applies, dies before the expiration of the period for furnishing the donation statement referred to in those subsections to the Public Offices Commission the requirements of those subsections with respect to that statement being accompanied by the statement and certificate referred to therein shall not apply.

(8) The Public Offices Commission shall retain the statements, certificates and statutory declarations furnished to it pursuant to subsections (3), (4) and (5) 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 Commission.

Registration of third parties.

23C.—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 Public Offices Commission 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 a Dáil, Seanad or European election or referendum or otherwise.”,

(e) in section 25 by—

(i) the insertion in subsection (1) of “or the responsible person of a third party or of an accounting unit” after “at the election”;

(ii) the insertion in subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b) of “or 23A” after “section 23”;

(iii) the insertion in subsection (1)(b) after “thereof” of “or fails to return the donation or part of the donation exceeding the limit to the donor under section 23A”;

(iv) the insertion in subsection (1)(c) of “furnish the statement of an institution, certificate or statutory declaration required under section 23B or” after “fails to”;

(v) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (d) of subsection (1):

“(d) knowingly—

(i) furnishes a donation statement under this Part or makes a statutory declaration referred to in section 24, or

(ii) furnishes a statement of an institution or a certificate or makes a statutory declaration referred to in section 23B,

which is false or misleading in any material respect, or”;

(vi) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (d) of subsection (1)—

“(e) fails to comply with section 23C.”;

(vii) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (c) of subsection (2)—

“(c) where the conviction relates to—

(i) a failure to furnish a statement of an institution or certificate or make a statutory declaration referred to in section 23B, or

(ii) a 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.”,

(f) in section 46 by—

(i) the deletion in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of all the words from “‘donation’” down to and including “namely—” and substituting “‘donation’ means any contribution given by any person to a candidate at a presidential election for the purpose of promoting the election of the candidate at that election or otherwise affecting the outcome of that election or to a third party for the purpose of promoting the election of a candidate at the presidential election or otherwise affecting the outcome of that election, and includes all or any of the following, namely—”;

(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;

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

‘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;

references to promoting the election of a candidate at a presidential election or otherwise affecting the outcome of that election shall be construed as references to—

(i) promoting or opposing, directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate or soliciting votes for or against a candidate,

(ii) presenting 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 candidate at the election or otherwise,

(iii) otherwise influencing the outcome of the election;

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

‘third party’, in relation to a presidential election, 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 a presidential election, who, in any particular year, accepts a donation the value of which exceeds £100.”,

(g) in section 47 by—

(i) the insertion in subsection (1) of “or third party” after “presidential election”,

(ii) the insertion in subsection (2) of

(I) “or third party” after “presidential election” and after “candidate concerned”, and

(II) “or the certificate to be furnished under section 48B” after “section 48” where it first occurs,

(h) the insertion of the following sections after section 48:

“Limits on donation amounts.

48A.—(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 a donation the value of which exceeds—

(i) in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (a) or (b), £2,000, or

(ii) in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (c), £5,000.

(2) None of the persons referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of 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) Where a person 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.

(4) Where, notwithstanding subsection (1) or (2), a donation, the acceptance of which is prohibited by either subsection, is made to a person, agent or third party referred to therein, the 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—

(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 Public Offices Commission, if required by it, or

(5) If a donation is accepted by or on behalf of a candidate at a presidential election before the appointment by the candidate of a presidential election agent, the candidate shall furnish to the relevant agent details of such donations, together with the relevant documentation, and thereafter the presidential election agent shall be responsible for furnishing the relevant statement to the Public Offices Commission.

Political donations accounts.

48B.—(1) Where a candidate at a presidential election, a presidential election agent or a third party receives a monetary donation the value of which exceeds £100, there shall be opened and maintained—

(a) in the case of such a receipt by the candidate before the appointment by him or her of a presidential election agent, by the candidate,

(b) in the case of such a receipt by the candidate after such an appointment is made, by that agent, and

an account at an institution in the State and there shall be lodged to that account by the person who has opened it that donation and any further monetary donations received by him or her or it.

(2) A presidential election agent shall ensure that a donation statement furnished by him or her under section 48 to the Public Offices Commission is accompanied by—

(a) a statement provided by the institution referred to in subsection (1) with which he or she or the candidate for whom he or she is a presidential election agent has opened the account referred to therein specifying the transactions that have taken place in relation to the account during the period beginning on the date of opening of the account and ending on polling day at the presidential election, and

(b) a certificate, in a form directed by the Public Offices Commission, signed by the presidential election agent, stating that all monetary donations received during the said period by him or her or the candidate for whom he or she is such an agent were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for promoting the election of the said candidate or otherwise affecting the outcome of the said election.

(3) A third party shall, not later than 56 days after polling day at a presidential election, furnish to the Public Offices Commission 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 period beginning on the date of opening of the account and ending on polling day at the presidential election, together with a certificate, in a form directed by the Commission, signed by the third party, stating that all monetary donations received during the said period by the third party were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for promoting the election of a candidate at the said election or otherwise affecting the outcome of the said election.

(4) The certificate furnished pursuant to 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 certificate 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) The Public Offices Commission shall retain the statements, certificates and statutory declarations furnished to it pursuant to subsections (2), (3) and (4) 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 Commission.

Registration of third parties.

48C.—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 the purposes of promoting the election of a candidate at a presidential election or otherwise affecting the outcome of such an election or, as the case may be, incurring, subsequent to that receipt, any further such expenses a third party shall furnish to the Public Offices Commission 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

(i) in section 61(2) by—

(i) the insertion of “or a candidate or a third party” after “candidate” and after “said agent”;

(ii) the insertion of “or the statement of an institution, certificate or statutory declaration required by section 48B” after “section 48” in paragraph (f) and (g);

(iii) the substitution of “respect, or” for “respect.” in paragraph (g);

(iv) the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (g)—

“(h) fails to notify the Public Offices Commission in accordance with section 47 or 48A of the receipt of a donation acceptance of which is prohibited by that section, or

(i) fails to remit to the Public Offices Commission in accordance with section 47 or 48A such a donation or the value thereof, or fails to return the donation or part of it exceeding the limit to the donor under section 48A, or

(j) fails to comply with section 48C.”;

(j) in section 61(5) by the insertion of “or a statement of an institution, certificate or statutory declaration under section 48B” after “section 48” in paragraph (c).

Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001 Permanent Page URL

Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001

Permanent Page URL