Pressure on TDs as election spending figures are released
A full breakdown of what the Government spent to get re-elected in May 2002 will be disclosed in a report by the Standards in Public Offices Commission but already it is conceded that the majority of Government ministers and a number of TDs are over-budget.
In theory, exceeding the limit could leave a deputy open to criminal prosecution while a more serious offence such as making a false declaration of expenditure is punishable by a fine of over 25,000 and/or three years in prison.