The first publication by the Public Offices Commission of the 240 declarations from TDs, senators and MEPs, and 16 political parties, of donations they received during the previous year, has been delayed. A minor amendment to the Electoral Act, whereby donations from a political party to an individual politician need only be reported if they take the form of cash rather than materials, such as posters and brochures, led the Commission to contact all the politicians to inquire if they wished to amend their declaration. Details of donations to presidential candidates are also due.
The replies are now being processed and the register of all donations of more than £500 to a politician and in excess of £4,000 to a political party, the names of the donors, whether the donation was in cash, service, goods or property, and the purpose of the gift, will be published for all to see. Being the first, and covering an election year, these returns, which will be annual, carry a particular interest and also severe penalties for a falsehood - £20,000 fine or three years in jail.
The Public Offices Commission, set up under the Electoral Act, is chaired by the ombudsman Kevin Murphy and comprises the comptroller and auditor general, John Purcell; the clerk of the Dail, Kieran Coughlan; the clerk of the Seanad, Deirdre Lane, and the Ceann Comhairle, Seamus Pattison. It met on Thursday to discuss the imminent releases. Meanwhile, last month the disclosures furnished by politicians under the Ethics in Public Office Act were published in Iris Oifigiuil after they were laid before both houses of the Oireachtas. Under that Act, all sitting politicians have to declare their outside interests - shareholdings, directorship, properties, additional employment and such like. All ministers and ministers of state also have to disclose the interests of their spouses and children which could materially affect their work, but this is not publicly released.