Probe into McAleese-backed contest

YOUR Country Your Call, the competition backed by President Mary McAleese to find two ideas to help spark economic recovery, is being investigated for compliance with political funding and ethics legalisation.

The move follows at least two complaints to the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) that the competition launched earlier this year was political in nature and therefore breaches rules governing the registering of donors for third-party political organisations.

The winners of the competition are to be announced on September 17.