On behalf of the Standards in Public Office Commission I thank you and the committee for the invitation to discuss the commission's role in elections. The commission's remit is determined by the provisions of the Electoral Act 1997. The Act provides for the disclosure of donations received by parties, Members of the Houses, MEPs and candidates at Dáil, Seanad, European Parliament and Presidential elections and also the limitation, disclosure and reimbursement of election expenses at Dáil, European Parliament and Presidential elections. I shall concentrate in this presentation on the Dáil and European Parliament elections. There are no limitation and disclosure provisions for Seanad elections.
The Standards in Public Office Commission understands that the purpose of these provisions is to provide for openness and accountability in the relationships that exist between on the one hand political parties and those who support them and individual politicians, whether that support is delivered by way of financial assistance or otherwise.
The legislation also seeks to achieve a degree of equity in the electoral process by limiting expenditure at elections and providing a system whereby candidates at elections can in certain circumstances recoup expenses. The Standards in Public Office Commission has supervised the provisions of the Act at two Dáil general elections, various by-elections and the European Parliament elections of 2004.
In regard to Dáil and European elections, the Act requires the Standards in Public Office Commission to monitor and, where it considers it appropriate to do so, to report to the chairman of Dáil Éireann, the Ceann Comhairle, on matters relating to the acceptance and disclosure of donations received by candidates, the opening and maintenance of political donations accounts by candidates, the limitation and disclosure of election expenses incurred by candidates' election agents, national agents of parties and by what are known in the Act as other persons and the reimbursement of election expenses to qualified candidates.
The commission also has a key function in providing advice to agents and candidates. We publish guidelines in advance of an election and they are binding on candidates and agents. The commission secretariat also meets political parties and election agents to ensure they are familiar with the requirements of the legislation. We also spend considerable time post-election in assisting agents complete returns.
The commission reports, under section 4(1) of the Act, to the Ceann Comhairle on any matter arising regarding donation statements and election expenses statements furnished to it under the Act. The commission considers each donation statement and election expenses statement. It is the practice of the standards commission to examine all the material furnished by candidates, election agents and national agents. In general, unless there is evidence to the contrary, donation statements and election expenses statements and supporting invoices are accepted as being accurate, subject to any amendments that may be required to correct minor errors or omissions. The Act provides that where the standards commission considers there may be a minor error or omission it may afford the election agent 14 days to rectify the error.
The commission is also required, under the Act, to lay a copy of each donation statement and election expenses statement furnished to it before the Houses of the Oireachtas and to facilitate the inspection and copying, by any person, of these statements. The standards commission regards this requirement as an important element of the legislation, as it facilitates a more broadly based assessment of these statutory returns by interested parties, including, for example, the media, competitors in a constituency and others who are involved on the ground and have detailed knowledge of the level of activity in the case of specific candidate or party campaigns. If such scrutiny gives rise to a valid complaint that a particular return is false or misleading, the standards commission will inquire into the matter and will take whatever further action may be appropriate. It is empowered under section 4(4) of the Act to conduct whatever inquiries are necessary in the discharge of its statutory functions.
In accordance with section 4(1), the standards commission furnished a report to the Ceann Comhairle last Thursday, 13 December 2007 concerning the donation statements and election expenses statements received by it in regard to the Dáil general election of 2007. Copies of the report were laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. The report, which gives details of donations disclosed and election expenses incurred, also makes a number of recommendations as to how the Act might be improved. Many of these recommendations were also included in a report from the commission to the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, in December 2003. That document set out a number of recommendations, both general and specific, as to how the legislation might be improved, but none of these was implemented. The standards commission encountered many of the same difficulties with the legislation at the 2007 general election as it had at the 2002 general election. Accordingly, many of the recommendations contained in the review document of 2003 also feature as recommendations in the recent report.
The report disclosed election expenses of €11.08 million. Some 300 candidates qualified for reimbursement of election expenses totalling €2.64 million. Donations disclosed by unsuccessful candidates amounted to €0.53 million. Donation statements from successful candidates are due to be returned by 31 January 2008 and statements from political parties are due by 31 March next. If trends evident in recent years are maintained, the total disclosed by these statements will amount to less than €0.3 million. It is not apparent to the standards commission, or to the general public, therefore, how the parties and candidates finance their election campaigns.
The following are some of the main recommendations contained in the standards commission's report on the 2007 Dáil general election. The proposed establishment of an electoral commission, as set out in the current programme for Government, affords an ideal opportunity for a complete review of the Act. Other reports from the standards commission have pointed out that there is a strong case to be made for a new approach to funding of political parties, for increased transparency in such funding and for greater scrutiny of party expenditure. As the body with responsibility for supervising the Act, the standards commission recommends that it should have a statutory role in reviewing the operation of the Act and reporting on its findings.
During the election there was considerable evidence of and much comment on pre-election spending by parties and candidates. Pre-election spending was expenditure on resources and materials used before the dissolution of the Dáil on 29 April. This expenditure was not required to be accounted for if the materials were not used during the election period. There are legitimate concerns that such front loading of campaign expenditure undermines the effectiveness of the expenditure limits and may create the perception that accounting for expenditure at elections is little more than a paper exercise. The standards commission recommends an election period of two or three months' duration and considers that expenditure on goods, property or services used for electoral purposes during this period should be subject to the statutory expenditure limits and accounted for.
The standards commission considers it imperative that an offence be provided for failure to open a political donations account when required to do so. The use of public funds for electoral purposes is also a major issue which requires to be re-evaluated and clarified in consideration of future changes to the electoral law. The provision of such clarity should be within the ambit of the electoral code. The term "election agent" as defined in the Act causes confusion among candidates and should be amended.
