€120,000 dinner is not a party fundraiser, says FF

FIANNA FÁIL has said it does not regard the annual Cáirde Fáil dinner hosted by the Taoiseach as a fundraiser for the party.

This week, the Irish Examiner reported how the event, which takes place on December 1 at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin, could potentially earn Fianna Fáil over €120,000.

The party is expecting between 1,400 and 1,600 to attend this year’s event, the vast majority of whom will each pay €80 for a ticket — suggesting total income of between €112,000 and €128,000. But a Fianna Fáil spokesman said that much of this money would be used to cover the cost of the dinner.

The spokesman said the party did not view the event as a fundraiser. Rather, it was seen as an occasion for rank-and-file members of the party to enjoy an evening with the Taoiseach and other members.

For that reason, the spokesman said, prices were deliberately kept low. This year’s ticket price of €80 is unchanged from last year.

Because of the low prices, Fianna Fáil does not have to declare the money raised, which it and other parties must provide to the Standards in Public Office Commission each year.

A party must only disclose individual donations which exceed €5,078.95 (IR£4,000) or aggregate donations from oneindividual in a calendar year which exceed the same amount.

But the spokesman reiterated that the ticket prices were kept low for party members’ sake, and not to avoid disclosure of the monies raised.

Yet it remains the case that current disclosure thresholds mean many fundraising events don’t have to be disclosed.