Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. 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.

2. 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

3. 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.”.

4. 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

5. 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);”.

6. 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

(c) inserting “48AA,” after “48A,”.

7. 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;”.

8. 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”.

9. 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,

(c) a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election,

(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.”.

10. 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,

(c) a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election,

(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;

(c) in the case of a trust, by a trustee of the trust.

(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,

or

(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.”.

11. 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,

(c) the candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election,

(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.”.

12. 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”.

13. 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”.

14. 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;

(c) in the case of a trust, by a trustee of the trust.

(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—