Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 October 2012
104. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will outline in detail the political funding to be paid to each qualifying party for 2012, including Leaders’ Allowance, Electoral Act Funding and the qualifying parties’ staffing allocation, with a break-down of the acceptable uses for each fund; the reforms that are planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42145/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Party Leader’s Allowance is provided for in the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) Act, 1938, as amended by the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 2001. The allowance is paid to the parliamentary leader of a qualifying party in relation to expenses arising from the parliamentary activities, including research, of the party. A "qualifying party" is defined in the Party Leaders Allowance Act as a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties which contested the last general election or any subsequent by-elections and which had at least one member elected to Dáil Éireann or elected or nominated to Seanad Éireann at that general election or at any subsequent by-election. Payments are made in respect of members of the party elected to Dáil Éireann and members elected/nominated to Seanad Éireann at the last preceding general election, or a subsequent bye-election or, in the case of Seanad Éireann, nominated to it after the last preceding general election.
Under the legislation, the amounts paid to the parliamentary leader of a qualifying party are calculated on the following basis:
|
TDs |
€ |
Government Parties* |
|
First 10 members |
71,520 |
47,680 |
|
11 members to 30 |
57,214 |
38,143 |
|
More than 30 members |
28,616 |
19,077 |
|
Senators |
€ |
|
First 5 members |
46,766 |
|
Over 5 members |
23,383 |
*The legislation provides that, in the case of a qualifying party forming part of the Government, the combined allowances due in respect of TDs of that party are reduced by one third.
The legislation also provides that payments may be made to a member of Dáil Éireann, who at the last preceding general election or at a subsequent by-election was elected as a member other than as a member of a qualifying party, i.e. an Independent Member. Such qualifying Independent TDs are entitled to an annual rate of €41,152. A similar provision in the Act provides for an annual payment of €23,383 for Independent Senators. The methodology used for calculation of the Party Leaders allowance for each qualifying party, and the annual amounts payable, are set out in Appendix I. The Act prescribes 11 different categories of expenditure, including research, which are regarded as expenses arising from parliamentary activities for the purposes of entitlement to the allowance. These are set out at Appendix II. The primary restriction in the Act on the use of the allowance is that it may not be used in respect of election expenses.
I intend to bring proposals to Government shortly in relation to reviewing the Allowance. Any change proposed following that review will require primary legislation to be prepared. Responsibility for the Electoral Acts is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. Provision is made for two payments to be made to qualifying political parties under the Electoral Acts. A qualifying party under these Acts is a party which is registered in the Register of Political Parties in accordance with Section 25 of the Electoral Act, 1992 as a party organised in the State to contest a Dáil election, and whose candidates received not less than 2% of the total first preference votes obtained by all candidates at the most recent Dáil general election.
Section 50(c)(ii)(I)(a) of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001, provides for an annual sum of €4.948 million to be shared among qualified political parties. Payments are calculated on the basis of the share of first preference votes obtained by an individual qualified party at the previous general election. Section 50(c)(i)(a) of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001 provides for an annual payment in each period of 12 months to each qualified party of €126,973.81. Under section 18 of the 1997 Act, as amended by the 2001 Act, parties shall, subject to guidelines issued by the Standards in Public Office Commission, apply such payments to:
“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, to any or all of the following purposes, namely
(i) the general administration of the party,
(ii) research, education and training,
(iii) policy formulation, and
(iv) the co-ordination of the activities of the branches and members of the party.
Payments made to a qualified party under this Part shall be deemed to include provision in respect of expenditure by the party in relation to the promotion of participation by women and young persons in political activity.”
Application of this funding to election expenses is not allowed.
The Electoral (Amendment)(Political Funding) Act 2012, which was recently enacted, will severely curtail corporate donations and cut the amounts that can be donated to political parties. The same legislation also includes provision that Political Parties that do not select at least 30% women candidates and at least 30% men candidates at the next General Election will face a cut of half of their State funding. It also makes provision for decreases as well as increases in civil service pay to be applied to the funding provided under the Electoral Acts. The methodology used for calculation of amounts payable under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001 is set out in Appendix III.
Finally, additional supports to the activities of members of each House, including secretarial assistance, are provided directly to members of each House under the auspices of the Oireachtas Commission. Since 2004, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission has been financed from the Central Fund. The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act is amended every three years to provide for Oireachtas funding allocation for the following three years. The legislation is also amended as necessary to update finance, staffing, and governance procedures. It is envisaged that amending legislation will be enacted before the end of 2012. Qualifying parties staffing allocations is a matter for the Oireachtas Commission and are provided for by regulation. The following table sets out the current allocations:
|
Party |
Allocation of Secretarial Assistants |
|
Fine Gael |
26 |
|
Labour |
13 |
|
Fianna Fáil |
23 |
|
Sinn Féin |
12.83 |
|
People Before Profit |
1.6 |
|
Socialist |
1.6 |
Appendix I
Party Leader’s Allowance – total annual amounts payable
|
Summary |
€ |
|
Fine Gael |
€2,678,403 |
|
Labour |
€1,789,783 |
|
Fianna Fáil |
€1,674,403 |
|
Sinn Fein |
€1,084,354 |
|
Socialist Party |
€143,040 |
|
People Before Profit |
€143,040 |
|
Independent TDs and Senators |
€897,876 |
|
Total |
€8,410,899 |
Calculation of the annual amount of the Party Leader’s Allowance payable to each parliamentary leader of the qualifying parties of the 31st Dáil
|
Fine Gael |
|||
|
Category |
No. of TD's |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 10 Members |
10 |
€71,520 |
€715,200 |
|
11 to 30 |
20 |
€57,214 |
€1,144,280 |
|
31 and over |
46 |
€28,616 |
€1,316,336 |
|
sub-total |
€3,175,816 |
||
|
Less 1/3 Government Party deduction |
€1,058,605 |
||
|
Total |
76 |
€2,117,211 |
|
|
Category |
No. of Senators |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 5 Members |
5 |
€46,766 |
€233,830 |
|
over 5 |
14 |
€23,383 |
€327,362 |
|
Total |
19 |
€561,192 |
|
|
Overall Total Due |
€2,678,403 |
Calculation of the annual amount of the Party Leader’s Allowance payable to each parliamentary leader of the qualifying parties of the 31st Dáil
Fine Gael
|
Category |
No. of TD's |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 10 Members |
10 |
€71,520 |
€715,200 |
|
11 to 30 |
20 |
€57,214 |
€1,144,280 |
|
31 and over |
46 |
€28,616 |
€1,316,336 |
|
sub-total |
€3,175,816 |
||
|
Less 1/3 Government Party deduction |
€1,058,605 |
||
|
Total |
76 |
€2,117,211 |
|
|
Category |
No. of Senators |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 5 Members |
5 |
€46,766 |
€233,830 |
|
over 5 |
14 |
€23,383 |
€327,362 |
|
Total |
19 |
€561,192 |
|
|
Overall Total Due |
€2,678,403 |
Labour
|
Category |
No. of TD's |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 10 Members |
10 |
€71,520 |
€715,200 |
|
11 to 30 |
20 |
€57,214 |
€1,144,280 |
|
31 and over |
8 |
€28,616 |
€228,928 |
|
sub-total |
€2,088,408 |
||
|
Less 1/3 Government Party deduction |
€696,136 |
||
|
Total |
38 |
€1,392,272 |
|
|
Category |
No. of Senators |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 5 Members |
5 |
€46,766 |
€233,830 |
|
over 5 |
7 |
€23,383 |
€163,681 |
|
Total |
12 |
€397,511 |
|
|
Overall Total Due |
€1,789,783 |
Fianna Fáil
|
Category |
No. of TD's |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 10 Members |
10 |
€71,520 |
€715,200 |
|
11 to 30 |
9 |
€57,214 |
€514,926 |
|
31 and over |
0 |
€28,616 |
€0 |
|
Total |
19 |
€1,230,126 |
|
|
Category |
No. of Senators |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 5 Members |
5 |
€46,766 |
€233,830 |
|
over 5 |
9 |
€23,383 |
€210,447 |
|
Total |
14 |
€444,277 |
|
|
Overall Total Due |
€1,674,403 |
Sinn Féin
|
Category |
No. of TD's |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 10 Members |
10 |
€71,520 |
€715,200 |
|
11 to 30 |
4 |
€57,214 |
€228,856 |
|
31 and over |
0 |
€28,616 |
€0 |
|
Total |
14 |
€944,056 |
|
|
Category |
No. of Senators |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 5 Members |
3 |
€46,766 |
€140,298 |
|
over 5 |
0 |
€23,383 |
€0 |
|
Total |
3 |
€140,298 |
|
|
Overall Total Due |
€1,084,354 |
Socialist Party
|
Category |
No. of TD's |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 10 Members |
2 |
€71,520 |
€143,040 |
|
11 to 30 |
0 |
€57,214 |
€0 |
|
31 and over |
0 |
€28,616 |
€0 |
|
Total |
2 |
€143,040 |
|
|
Overall Total Due |
€143,040 |
People Before Profit
|
Category |
No. of TD's |
Rate |
Due |
|
First 10 Members |
2 |
€71,520 |
€143,040 |
|
11 to 30 |
0 |
€57,214 |
€0 |
|
31 and over |
0 |
€28,616 |
€0 |
|
Total |
2 |
€143,040 |
|
|
Overall Total Due |
€143,040 |
Independents
|
Category |
No. of TD's |
Rate |
Due |
|
15 |
€41,152 |
€617,280 |
|
|
Category |
No. of Senators |
Rate |
Due |
|
12 |
€23,383 |
€280,596 |
|
|
Overall Total Due |
€897,876 |
Appendix II
Relevant expenditure for the purposes of the Party Leader’s Allowance
Expenses arising from parliamentary activities, including research includes expenditure on the following categories—
1. the general administration of the parliamentary activities of a qualifying party;
2. the provision of technical or specialist advice likely to be required in connection with legislative proposals or potential parliamentary initiatives;
3. research and training;
4. policy formulation;
5. the provision of consultants’ services, including the engagement of public relations consultants;
6. polling or public attitude sampling in connection with parliamentary debates or initiatives;
7. the purchase of support services for a parliamentary party from the party;
8. the payment to a parliamentary leader of any salary or honorarium in respect of duties arising from his or her activities as such leader as distinct from those of a member of Dail Eireann or a holder of a ministerial office;
9. the payment to another person of any salary or honorarium in respect of duties arising from the person’s activities in a parliamentary party;
10. the provision for, or recoupment of, transport and personal expenditure incurred by a parliamentary leader, officers or a parliamentary party spokesperson as a result of their parliamentary party function; and
11. entertainment.
Appendix III
Calculation of the annual amounts payable under the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001 to the qualifying parties of the 31st Dáil
Section 50(c)(ii)(I)(a)
|
Party |
1 st Preference Votes as % of total 1 st preference votes of qualified parties |
Amount payable |
|
Fine Gael |
43.533 |
€2,154,080.84 |
|
Labour |
23.449 |
€1,160,292.92 |
|
Fianna Fáil |
21.036 |
€1,040,882.44 |
|
Sinn Féin |
11.983 |
€592,945.48 |
|
Total |
€4,948,201.68 |
Section 50(c)(i)(a)
|
Summary |
Amount |
|
Fine Gael |
€126,973.81 |
|
Labour |
€126,973.81 |
|
Fianna Fáil |
€126,973.81 |
|
Sinn Fein |
€126,973.81 |
