Statements of Expenditure and Public Auditors' Reports, in respect of 2006, furnished to the Standards in Public Office 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.
Part 2 - Increases to allowance during 2006 and current rates of payment
Section 11A of the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 1938 (as inserted by the Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices and Oireachtas Members (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001) provides that payments made under the Party Leaders Allowance shall increase in line with general Civil Service pay increases. Accordingly, payments made under the Party Leaders Allowance were increased on 1 June 2006 by 2.5% (under "Sustaining Progress") and on 1 December 2006 by 3% (under "Towards 2016").
In addition, section 8A of the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 1938 (as inserted by section 11 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act 1973) provides that the Government may, by order, increase the payments made under the Party Leaders Allowance. The Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Allowances and Salaries) (Increase) Order of 13 December 2005 (SI No. 807 of 2005) made provision for the allowances to increase by 3.75% with effect from 1 January 2006. This increase reflects a pay increase awarded under Report No 40 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector.
As of 31 December 2006 the allowance paid to parliamentary party leaders in respect of members of Dáil Éireann is €66,739 per member for each of the first10 members elected, €53,390 per member for each member elected from 11 to 30 members and €26,703 for each member elected over 30 members. (The original amounts provided for in the Act were €48,547, €38,837 and €19,423, respectively)
As of 31 December 2006 the allowance paid to parliamentary party leaders in respect of members of the Seanad is €43,639 per member elected or nominated for each of the first five members and €21,821 for each member elected or nominated over 5 members. (The original amounts provided for in the Act were €31,743 and €15,872 respectively).
Details of payments made to the qualifying party leaders in respect of 2006 are provided in Table 1 below.
As of 31 December 2006, non-party members of Dáil Éireann receive an allowance of €38,401 while non-party members of Seanad Éireann receive an allowance of €21,821. (The original amounts provided in the Act were €27,934 and €15,872, respectively). The total amount paid to non-party members of Dáil Éireann during 2006 was €514,158. The total amount paid to non-party members of Seanad Éireann was €104,970. Non-party members of Dáil or Seanad Éireann are not required to furnish to the Standards Commission a Statement of Expenditure in relation to the allowance.
In accordance with section 1.10(6) of the Act, none of the above allowances are subject to income tax.
Part 3 - Purposes for which the Party Leaders Allowance is provided
Section 1.10(1) of the Act provides that the allowance shall be paid to the parliamentary leader of a qualifying party in relation to expenses arising from the parliamentary activities, including research, of the party.
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.
Section 1.10(5) of the Act provides that the allowance shall not be used for, or to recoup, expenses incurred for the purposes of an election or a referendum. During 2006, certain media reports suggested that Exchequer funding received by qualified political parties might be used to finance "pre-election" spending at the 2007 Dáil general election. "Pre-election" means expenses incurred on goods, property or services which are used prior to the dissolution of Dáil Éireann. The Standards Commission took the view that it was not appropriate to use funding received under the Party Leaders Allowance legislation to finance any form of election spending at either the Dáil or Seanad general elections. It issued guidelines to this effect in November 2006 to each of the seven political parties qualified to receive Exchequer funding under the Party Leaders Allowance legislation. These guidelines were also published on the website of the Standards Commission.
The guidelines stated that where it was evident from a Statement of Expenditure of the Party Leaders Allowance that the Allowance had been used for electoral purposes, the Standards Commission would publish details of such use in its report to the Minister for Finance and would inform the Minister for Finance that, in its opinion, an inappropriate use of the funding had occurred. It would then be a matter for the Minister for Finance to decide what action should be taken with regard to future payments of the Party Leaders Allowance to the party concerned.
The parliamentary party leaders were required to state on their Statement of Expenditure of the Party Leaders Allowance if the Allowance has been used for electoral purposes. Each of the seven parliamentary party leaders have stated that the Allowance was not used for electoral purposes.
Part 4 - Furnishing by Parliamentary Party Leaders of Statements of Expenditure of the Allowance
Section 1.10(11) of the Act provides that parliamentary 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 (i.e., by 30 April), 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 this 120 day period. 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.
The Standards Commission wrote to the parliamentary leaders of the seven qualifying parties on 8 March 2007 advising them of the need to furnish a statement of expenditure from the allowance during 2006. The letter informed the parliamentary leaders that they must provide details, under each heading, of the specific items to which the expenditure was applied and 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, Labour Party.
Mr. Michael McDowell, Progressive Democrats.
Mr. Trevor Sargent, TD, Green Party.
Mr. Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, TD, Sinn Féin.
Mr. Joe Higgins, Socialist Party.
Enclosed with the letter was a Statement of Expenditure of Party Leaders Allowance form (06/PLA/EFS) for completion and return to the Standards Commission by 31 March 2007. This date is not specified in the legislation. However, having regard to the statutory deadline of 30 April 2006, the return date of 31 March was chosen to ensure that parliamentary leaders would have sufficient time to furnish their statements in advance.
In relation to the Progressive Democrats, where there had been a change of parliamentary party leader during 2006, section 1.10(11)(b) and (c) of the Act, provides that where a person who is the parliamentary leader of a qualifying party ceases to be the parliamentary leader of the party she shall prepare or cause to be prepared a statement of any expenditure from that allowance. In other words, Minister Mary Harney, TD was responsible for furnishing a statement of expenditure in respect of the period in 2006 during which she was parliamentary leader of the Progressive Democrats. However, this provision does not apply if Minister Harney and Minister McDowell agreed in writing that expenditure from the annual allowance paid to her during 2006 could be included in the statement furnished by Mr McDowell for 2006. As a single Statement of Expenditure of the Allowance was completed by Mr. McDowell, he was requested to furnish a copy of a written agreement between himself and Minister Harney to this effect with his statement.
Part 5 - Consideration by the Standards Commission of Statements of Expenditure of the Allowance and Auditors' Reports received in respect of 2006
Section 1.10(11)(e) of the Act provides that the Standards Commission must consider each statement and auditor's report furnished to it and, if necessary, consult with the parliamentary leader on any matter contained in the statement.
The Standards Commission must also furnish a report to the Minister for Finance on the statements and auditors' reports received indicating:
(i) whether the statements and auditors' reports have been submitted within the specified period,
(ii) whether any expenditure is disclosed which does not comply with subsection 1(10)(5) of the Act,
(iii) whether the statements are adequate, or
(iv) whether the statements are inappropriate
A Statement of Expenditure/Public Auditor's Report was received by the Standards Commission from the parliamentary leaders of all seven qualifying parties within the specified period (i.e., by 30 April 2007). The Standards Commission has considered the Statements of Expenditure/Public Auditors' Reports and is satisfied that:
i) they do not disclose any expenditure which does not comply with section 1.10(5) of the Act,
ii) they are adequate, and
iii) they are not inappropriate.
The Standards Commission is required to lay a copy of its report to the Minister for Finance before each House of the Oireachtas. A copy of the statements and auditors' reports received must be retained by the Standards Commission for three years and be made available for public inspection and copying. The Statements of Expenditure/Public Auditors' Reports furnished to the Standards Commission may be inspected and copied by members of the public at the offices of the Standards Commission, 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2. The information will also be available, in summary form, on the website of the Standards Commission www.sipo.gov.ie.
Details of the allowances paid to the parliamentary leaders and an outline of expenditure from the allowances in 2006 are contained in Table 1, attached. Table 2 provides a breakdown of expenditure from the allowances under the headings set out in section 1.10(14) of the Act. It should be noted that where 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.
Table 1 - Details of funding available to the Parliamentary Leaders of Qualified Political Parties under the Party Leaders Allowance during 2006
| | Total funding received during 2006 | Amount of funding brought forward from 2005 | Overall total funding available for spending in 2006 | Total Expenditure of funding received in 2006 | Balance of funding carried forward to 2007 |
| | € | € | € | € | € |
| Fianna Fáil | 2,704,169 | 488,450 | 3,192,619 | 3,192,619 | Nil |
| Fine Gael | 2,115,054 | Nil | 2,115,054 | 2,115,054 | Nil |
| Labour Party | 1,417,105 | 44,771 | 1,461,876 | 1,337,955 | 123,921 |
| Progressive Democrats | 510,410 | 444,827 | 955,237 | 677,602 | 277,635 |
| Green Party | 385,271 | 515,511 | 900,782 | 532,195 | 368,587 |
| Sinn Féin | 321,060 | 39,684 | 360,744 | 336,262 | 24,482 |
| Socialist Party | 64,212 | 11,123 | 75,335 | 67,362 | 7,973 |
| Total | 7,517,281 | 1,544,366 | 9,061,647 | 8,259,049 | 802,598 |
Table 2 - Detailed breakdown of expenditure during 2006 of funding received by the Parliamentary Leaders of Qualified Political Parties under the Party Leaders Allowance
| Fianna Fáil | Fine Gael | Labour Party | Progressive Democrats | Green Party | Sinn Féin | Socialist Party | Total |
| € | € | € | € | € | € | € | € |
A | 1,928,011 | 603,335 | 916,792 | 85,318 | Nil | 159,919 | 2,668 | 3,696,043 |
B | Nil | Nil | 256,167 | Nil | Nil | 709 | Nil | 256,876 |
C | Nil | 55,261 | Nil | 91,364 | 4,465 | 78,532 | 50,131 | 279,753 |
D | 605,411 | 187,827 | 6,943 | Nil | 15,000 | 56,878 | 14,412 | 886,471 |
E | 428,169 | 17,662 | 86,975 | 1,573 | Nil | 7,841 | Nil | 542,220 |
F | Nil | 283,808 | 39,026 | Nil | 17,398 | Nil | Nil | 340,232 |
G | Nil | 871,858 | Nil | 494,288 | 494,447 | Nil | Nil | 1,860,593 |
H | Nil | 48,344 | 19,565 | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | 67,909 |
I | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | 32,383 | Nil | 32,383 |
J | 228,174 | 46,959 | 8,380 | Nil | 885 | Nil | 151 | 284,549 |
K | 2,854 | Nil | 4,107 | 5,059 | Nil | Nil | Nil | 12,020 |
Total | 3,192,619 | 2,115,054 | 1,337,955 | 677,602 | 532,195 | 336,262 | 67,362 | 8,259 |
Table Breakdown:
(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.