Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001

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PART 5

Miscellaneous

Amendment of Act of 1997.

50.—The Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) in section 4 by—

(i) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) Where the Public Offices Commission, following consideration by it of a statement furnished to it pursuant to section 20, 24, 36, 48 or 56, finds a minor error or omission in the statement, the Commission shall furnish to the agent or person by whom the statement was furnished details of the error or omission, as the case may be, and the Commission shall inform the agent or the person, as the case may be, 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 agent or person as the case may be.”,

(ii) the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (9):

“(10) Such functions of the Public Offices Commission under this Act, as may be specified by it, may be performed under the supervision and subject to the general direction of the Commission, by members of the staff of the Commission duly authorised in that behalf by the Commission.

(11) A person shall act in accordance with guidelines or advice published or given to the person under this section unless, by so doing, the act concerned would constitute a contravention of another provision of this Act.”,

(b) by the insertion of the following section after section 4:

(c) in section 17 by—

(i) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the following payments shall be made out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof in each period of 12 months to each qualified party which applies therefor, namely—

(a) an amount of £100,000, and

(b) an amount which bears the same proportion to the amount referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) or, as appropriate, paragraph (b)(i) of that subsection, as the proportion which the total number of first preference votes obtained by every candidate of the political party concerned at the preceding general election bears to the total number of first preference votes obtained by candidates of all qualified parties at that election.”,

(ii) in subsection (2)—

(I) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) The aggregate of the payments which may be made to qualified parties under subsection (1)(b) shall not, subject to paragraph (b), exceed three million pounds.”,

and

(II) the substitution in paragraph (b)(i) of “which may be made under subsection (1)(b)” for “which may be made under this section”,

(iii) the deletion of subsection (3), and

(iv) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):

“(4A) Where, before the date for the making of a payment under this Part—

(a) one or more political parties (which or each of which is referred to in this subsection as a ‘former party’) is or are amalgamated with another political party (in this subsection referred to as the ‘enlarged party’), or

(b) two or more political parties (each of which is also referred to in this subsection as a ‘former party’) are merged into a political party established for the purpose of the merger (in this subsection referred to as the ‘new party’),

then, if the enlarged party or new party falls within paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘qualified party’ in section 16, the total number of first preference votes obtained by every candidate of each former party shall, for the purposes of paragraph (b) of that definition and subsection (1)(b) of section 17, be attributed to the enlarged party or the new party, as the case may be.”,

(d) in section 18 by the insertion in subsection (1)(a) after “such payments to” of “the general conduct and management of the party's affairs and the lawful pursuit by it of any of its objectives and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,”,

(e) in section 21 by—

(i) the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii) of subsection (1)(a) (inserted by section 4 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1998 ):

“(ii) is not so elected but the greatest number of votes credited to him or her at any stage of the counting of votes at the election exceeds, in the case of a general election, one quarter of the quota, or, in the case of a bye-election, one quarter of what would have been the quota in that constituency were the full number of members of the Dáil for the existing constituency to be elected.”,

(ii) the insertion in subsection (1)(c) of “in a form directed by the Commission” after “Commission”;

(iii) in subsection (1)(d)—

(I) the substitution for “Part V, and” of “Part V,” in subparagraph (ii),

(II) the substitution for “the candidate.” of “the candidate, and” in subparagraph (iii), and

(III) the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iii):

“(iv) certified to the said Minister that a donation statement required to be submitted under section 24(2)(a) has been furnished to the Commission and such statement was completed in accordance with guidelines issued by the Commission under section 4.”,

(f) in section 22(2)(b) by—

(i) the insertion of “(including recoupment of expenses)” after “normal remuneration” in clause (II) of subparagraph (iii) (inserted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1998 );

(ii) the substitution for “donation of money;” of “donation of money,” in subparagraph (vi) (inserted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1998 ); and

(iii) the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (vi):

“(vii) election expenses incurred by a political party on behalf of a candidate of the political party at a Seanad election, other than a donation of money;”,

(g) in section 24 by—

(i) in subsection (1A)(b) (inserted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1998 )—

(I) the deletion of “and” in subparagraph (i),

(II) the substitution for “section 26.” of “section 26, and” in subparagraph (ii), and

(III) the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (ii):

“(iii) to donations (other than money) made by a political party to its members whether to individuals or any part of the party.”;

(ii) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (6):

“(6A) Where the Public Offices Commission requests additional or supplemental information in relation to a donation statement, such information shall be provided by the person who furnished the statement under subsection (1) or (2) and shall be in a form, directed by the Commission, accompanied, if the Commission so requests, by a statutory declaration made by the person that, to the best of the person's knowledge and belief, the information 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.”;

and

(iii) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (7)—

“(8) If a person to whom subsection (1)(a) or (2) applies dies before the expiration of the period for furnishing a statement under subsection (1)(a) or (2), a donation statement in respect of that person shall not be required to be made to the Public Offices Commission.”,

(h) in section 25 by—

(i) the insertion of “or section 26” after “section” where it first occurs in subsection (2), and

(ii) the insertion of “or (1A)(b)” after “subsection (1)(d)” in subsection (2)(b),

(i) in section 26 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(3) A company, trade union, society or building society which fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence and section 74 shall apply to such an offence.”,

(j) in section 28(2)(a) by the insertion after “Part” of “and to assist the candidate generally in relation to the election.”,

(k) in section 31 by:

(i) in subsection (1)(a)—

(I) The deletion of all the words from “In this Part” down to and including “in order—” and the substitution of the following—

“In this Part ‘election expenses’ means all expenses falling within paragraph (b) incurred in the provision of property, goods or services for use at an election during the period referred to in subsection (3) in order—”,

and

(II) in subparagraph (iii)—

(A) the substitution of “the outcome of the election.” for “the outcome of the election;”,

and

(B) the deletion of all the words from “and shall” down to and including “at the election.”,

(ii) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b) of subsection (1):

“(b) The expenses mentioned in the foregoing definition of ‘election expenses’ shall be those, and only those, set out, in the Schedule to this Act.”,

(iii) in subsection (3)(b) the substitution of “paragraph 2(b), of the Schedule to this Act” for “subsection (1)(b)(vi)”,

and

(iv) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (8):

“(8A) It shall be the duty of the political party or candidate concerned to furnish the relevant material referred to in subsection (8) to the relevant national agent or election agent in sufficient time to enable the agent to carry out his or her duties under section 36. A political party or a candidate which or who fails to comply with this section shall be guilty of an offence.”;

(l) in section 32 by the substitution of “£20,000” for the sum mentioned in subparagraph (i), “£25,000” for the sum mentioned in subparagraph (ii) and “£30,000” for the sum mentioned in subparagraph (iii) of subsection (1)(a),

(m) in section 36 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) Where the Public Offices Commission requests additional or supplemental information in relation to a statement of election expenses under this section, such information shall be provided by the agent or person who furnished the statement and shall be in a form, directed by the Commission, accompanied, if the Commission so requests, by a statutory declaration made by the agent or person that, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the agent or person, the information is correct in every material respect and that the agent or person has taken all reasonable action in order to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the information.”,

(n) in section 43 by the insertion of “and, for the purposes of proceedings for an offence under this paragraph, the excess of such expenditure shall be deemed to have occurred on polling day” after “appropriate,” in paragraph (a) of subsection (2),

(o) in section 46(2)(b) by the insertion of “(including recoupment of expenses)” after “normal remuneration” in clause (II) of subparagraph (iii) (inserted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1998 ),

(p) in section 48 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) Where the Public Offices Commission requests additional or supplemental information in relation to a presidential election donation statement, such information shall be provided by the presidential election agent concerned and shall be in a form, directed by the Commission, accompanied, if the Commission so requests, by a statutory declaration made by the agent that, to the best of the agent's knowledge and belief, the information is correct in every material respect and that the agent has taken all reasonable action in order to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the information.”,

(q) in section 50(1)(a) by the insertion of “and to assist the candidate generally in relation to the election” after “of this Part”,

(r) in section 52 by—

“(i) in subsection (1)(a)—

(I) The deletion of all the words from “In this Part” down to and including “in order—” and the substitution of the following—

“In this Part ‘election expenses’ means all expenses falling within paragraph (b) incurred in the provision of property, goods or services for use at a presidential election during the period commencing on the date of the order appointing polling day at that election and ending on polling day at that election in order—”,

and

(II) in subparagraph (iii)—

(A) the substitution of “the outcome of the election.” for “the outcome of the election,”, and

(B) the deletion of all the words from “and shall” down to and including “at the election.”,

(ii) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b) of subsection (1):

“(b) The expenses mentioned in the foregoing definition of ‘election expenses’ shall be those, and only those, set out, in the Schedule to this Act.”,

and

(iii) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (7):

“(7A) It shall be the duty of the candidate concerned to furnish the relevant material referred to in subsection (7) to the relevant presidential election agent in sufficient time to enable the agent to carry out his or her duties under section 56. A candidate who fails to comply with this subsection shall be guilty of an offence.”,

(s) in section 56 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) Where the Public Offices Commission requests additional or supplemental information in relation to a statement of election expenses under this section, such information shall be provided by the presidential election agent or person who furnished the statement in a form, directed by the Commission, accompanied, if the Commission so requests by a statutory declaration made by the agent or person that, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the agent or person, the information is correct in every material respect and that the agent or person has taken all reasonable action in order to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the information.”,

(t) in section 61 by the insertion of “and, for the purposes of proceedings for an offence under this paragraph, the excess of such expenditure shall be deemed to have occurred on polling day,” after “section 53” in paragraph (a) of subsection (2),

(u) in section 63 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(3) Rules 16 and 17 of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1992 , shall apply to an appeal against a ruling of a registration authority to an application under this section as if the reference in the said Rule 16 to an application for entry in the supplement to the register were a reference to an application for entry in the postal voters list under this section.”; and

(v) by the insertion after section 82 of the following Schedule:

“SCHEDULE

1. The following are the expenses referred to in section 31(1)(b) and 52(1)(b):

(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.

(c) Election posters.

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, a political group 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—

(a) any of the matters referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (v) of section 22(2)(b) or, in the case of a presidential election, subparagraphs (i) to (v) of section 46(2)(b),

(b) expenses incurred in the provision of property, goods or services used at an election where such property, goods or services was or were provided in respect of a previous Presidential, Dáil, European or local election and the cost of providing such property, goods or services was included in the statement of election expenses furnished to the Public Offices Commission or to a local authority in relation to the said previous election by the national agent of the party or designated person of the party or election agent of the candidate, or candidate as the case may be,

(c) any expenses in respect of any property, services or facilities so far as those expenses fall to be met out of public funds,

(d) the payment by or on behalf of a candidate of the deposit under section 13 of the Act of 1997 or section 47 of the Act of 1992, as may be appropriate,

(e) expenditure on the purchase of copies of the register of electors or parts thereof,

(f) the reasonable living expenses (including accommodation) of a candidate or any person or persons working on behalf of the candidate on a voluntary basis, or

(g) any sum disbursed by any individual out of the individual's own resources for any minor expenses (not exceeding £100 in any one payment) lawfully incurred in relation to the election if the said sum is not repaid to the person.”.