Expenditure of the Party Leaders Allowance (2003)

Statements of Expenditure and Public Auditors' Reports, in respect of 2003, furnished to the Standards in Public Offices Commission, pursuant to Section 1.10(11)(a) and Section 1.10(11)(d) of the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices)(Amendment) Act, 2001.

Report by the Standards in Public Office Commission to the Minister for Finance in accordance with Section 1(10)(11)(e) of the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Act, 2001.

Foreword

I am pleased to furnish this report to the Minister for Finance in accordance with section 1.10(11)(e)(iii) of the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Act, 2001 (the Act). The Statements of Expenditure and Public Auditors' reports referred to in the report were furnished to the Standards in Public Office Commission (the Standards Commission) pursuant to sections 1.10(11)(a) and 1.10(11)(d) of the Act.

This is the third year in which parliamentary leaders have been required to prepare a statement of expenditure received under the Act. The Standards Commission welcomes the opportunity to place this information in the public domain. As outlined in the report, the Standards Commission will facilitate its dissemination by posting the report in full on its website, www.sipo.ie, and by making the material available at its offices for inspection and copying.

____________________
Justice Matthew P. Smith
Chairman

PART 1 Introduction

The Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Act, 2001 (the Act) provides for the payment of an annual allowance to the parliamentary leader of a qualifying political party in relation to expenses arising from the parliamentary activities, including research, of the party. The Standards Commission has a supervisory role in relation to payments made under this legislation. The allowance is referred to as the Party Leaders Allowance.

This report relates to the Statements of Expenditure of the Party Leaders Allowance in respect of the year 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003, furnished to the Standards Commission by parliamentary leaders of the seven qualifying political parties, namely, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, The Labour Party, The Progressive Democrats, The Green Party, Sinn Féin and The Socialist Party.

PART 2 Relevant provisions of the legislation

To assist a better understanding of the statutory requirements, the Standards Commission considers it useful to set out, in this part of the report, an account of the relevant legislation.

Section 1.10 (1) of the Act provides for the payment of an annual allowance to the parliamentary leader of a qualifying political party in relation to expenses arising from the parliamentary activities, including research, of the party.

A qualifying party is defined in the Act as a party registered in the Register of Political Parties which contested the last preceding general election or any subsequent bye-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 bye-election.

The allowance is calculated for each parliamentary leader by reference to the number of members of the party elected to Dáil Éireann at the last preceding Dáil general election or at a subsequent bye-election, or elected or nominated to Seanad Éireann at the last preceding Seanad general election or nominated to it after the last preceding general election.

In 2003, the allowance in respect of members of Dáil Éireann was €53,266 per member for each of the first 10 members elected, €42,612 per member for each member elected from 11 to 30 members and €21,311 for each member elected over 30 members.

In the case of members of the Seanad, the allowance was €34,829 per member elected or nominated for each of the first 5 members and €17,415 for each member elected or nominated over 5 members.

Independent members of Dáil Éireann received an allowance of €30,649 and independent members of Seanad Éireann received an allowance of €17,415. Such members are not required to furnish to the Standards Commission a Statement of Expenditure in relation to the allowance.

Section 1.10(2) of the Act provides that if a qualifying party forms part of the Government, the combined allowances in respect of its members of the Dáil, only, will be reduced by one-third.

Section 1.10(5) of the Act provides that an allowance shall not be used for, or to recoup, election or poll expenses incurred for the purposes of an election or poll held under various Electoral Acts, European Parliament Elections Acts, Presidential Elections Acts, Referendum Acts or Seanad Electoral Acts.

Section 1.10(6) of the Act provides that the allowances are not liable to income tax.

Section 1.10(10) of the Act provides that where the members of a qualifying party agree to dissolve the party and to amalgamate with, or all its members join, another specified qualifying party, the members of the Dáil and Seanad of the former party will, from the date of dissolution, be deemed to be members of the specified other party for the purpose of payment of the allowance.

Section 1.10(11) of the Act assigned new functions to the Standards Commission, in relation to payments made from 1 January 2001, and provides that,

1) party leaders must prepare, or cause to be prepared, not more than 120 days after the end of the financial year in which an allowance has been paid, a statement of any expenditure from the allowance. The statement must be audited by a public auditor and must be submitted with the auditor's report to the Standards Commission within the 120 day period;

2) the person who was the parliamentary leader of a party and the person who succeeds him or her may agree in writing that a statement of expenditure from the annual allowance paid to a former parliamentary leader shall be included in the next statement of his or her successor;

3) the Standards Commission may, if it considers it appropriate, consult with the parliamentary leader on any matter contained in the statement of expenditure;

4) the Standards Commission must:

(i) consider the statement and auditor's report,

(ii) if necessary, consult with the party leader on any matter contained in it,

(iii) furnish a report to the Minister for Finance indicating whether the statement and auditor's report have been submitted within the specified period, whether any unauthorised expenditure is disclosed and whether the statement is adequate or inappropriate;

5) the Standards Commission must cause a copy of the report to the Minister for Finance to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas;

6) a copy of the statements and auditors' reports must be retained by the Standards Commission for three years and must be available for public inspection and copying.

Section 1.10(12) of the Act provides that an allowance shall not be paid to the parliamentary leader unless the statement of expenditure and auditor's report have been received by the Standards Commission not more that 120 days after the end of the financial year (i.e. by 30 April). The period of 120 days is extended by any period for which the Dáil stands dissolved which coincides with that period.

Section 1.10(14) of the Act provides that "expenses arising from the parliamentary activities, including research" include expenditure on the following matters:

(a) the general administration of the parliamentary activities of a qualifying party,

(b) the provision of technical or specialist advice likely to be required in connection with legislative proposals or potential parliamentary initiatives,

(c) research and training,

(d) policy formulation,

(e) the provision of consultant services, including the engagement of public relations services,

(f) polling or public attitude sampling in connection with parliamentary debates or initiatives,

(g) the purchase of support services for a parliamentary party from the party,

(h) 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 Dáil Éireann or a holder of a Ministerial office,

(i) the payment to another person of any salary or honorarium in respect of duties arising from the person's activities in a parliamentary party,

(j) 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,

(k) entertainment.

Section 1.10(13) of the Act provides that the Minister for Finance may, by regulation, extend the above list after consulting the parliamentary leaders and after considering any report made by the Standards Commission.

PART 3 Correspondence with parliamentary leaders

The Standards Commission wrote to the parliamentary leaders of the seven qualifying parties on 6 January 2004 requesting that they prepare, or cause to be prepared, in accordance with section 1.10 (11) (a) of the Act, a statement of any expenditure from the annual allowance which was paid under the Act in 2003. The letter emphasised that they must provide details, under each heading, of the specific items to which the expenditure was applied. They were informed that the statement must be accompanied by an auditor's report.

The parliamentary leaders to whom the Standards Commission wrote were:

Mr. Bertie Ahern, TD, Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil.
Mr. Enda Kenny, TD, Fine Gael.
Mr. Pat Rabbitte, TD, The Labour Party.
Ms. Mary Harney, TD, The Progressive Democrats.
Mr. Trevor Sargent, TD, The Green Party.
Mr. Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, TD, Sinn Féin.
Mr. Joe Higgins, TD, The Socialist Party.

Enclosed with the letter was a Statement of Expenditure of Party Leaders Allowance form (03/PLA/EFS) for completion and return to the Standards Commission by 31 March 2004. This date is not specified in the legislation. It was chosen by the Standards Commission to ensure that parliamentary leaders had adequate time to furnish the statements before 30 April 2004, having regard to the fact that section 1.10(12)(a) of the Act provides that an allowance shall not be paid unless the statement and auditor's report have been received by the Standards Commission not more than 120 days after the end of the financial year to which the statement and auditor's report relate (i.e. by 30 April).

PART 4 Statements of Expenditure and Public Auditors' Reports received in respect of 2003

A Statement of Expenditure and Public Auditor's Report was received by the Standards Commission from the parliamentary leaders of all of the seven qualifying parties by 30 April 2004. As the Statements of Expenditure provided by the parliamentary leaders of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, The Progressive Democrats and The Labour Party did not, under certain of the expenditure headings, contain sufficient information concerning the specific items to which the expenditure was applied, the parliamentary leaders of those parties were asked to provide more information relating to those headings. The relevant information was subsequently provided.

The Standards Commission has considered the Statements of Expenditure and Public Auditors' Reports and is satisfied that:

a) they do not disclose any expenditure which does not comply with subsection (5) of section 1.10 of the Act, and

b) they are adequate and are not inappropriate.

Details of the allowances paid to the parliamentary leaders and an outline of expenditure from the allowances in 2003 are contained in Table 1 attached. Table 2 provides a breakdown of expenditure from the allowances.

If funding in respect of a particular year is not spent in that year, it must be accounted for in the statement(s) for the year in which it is actually spent.

A copy of this report will be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

The Statements of Expenditure and Public Auditors' Reports furnished to the Standards Commission may be inspected and copied by members of the public at the Standards Commission's offices, 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2, on Mondays to Fridays from 10.00 am to 12.30 pm and from 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm. The information is also available, in summary form, on the Standards Commission's website www.sipo.ie.

Table 1: Details of funding of parliamentary leaders of qualified political parties under the Party Leaders Allowance in 2003

Table 2: Detailed breakdown of spending of funding received by the parliamentary leaders of qualified political parties under the Party Leaders Allowance.

(The letters in the first column represent the headings below under which expenditure is permitted by section 1.10(14) of the Act.)

(a) the general administration of the parliamentary activities of a qualifying party,

(b) the provision of technical or specialist advice likely to be required in connection with legislative proposals or potential parliamentary initiatives,

(c) research and training,

(d) policy formulation,

(e) the provision of consultant services, including the engagement of public relations services,

(f) polling or public attitude sampling in connection with parliamentary debates or initiatives,

(g) the purchase of support services for a parliamentary party from the party,

(h) 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 Dáil Éireann or a holder of a Ministerial office,

(i) the payment to another person of any salary or honorarium in respect of duties arising from the person's activities in a parliamentary party,

(j) 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,

(k) entertainment.