Less than €100,000 in donations disclosed last year

Ireland's political parties disclosed total donations worth less than €100,000 for 2008, according to figures published today by the Standards in Public Office Commission.

The total figure of just over €96,500 is the lowest since 1997, when the law requiring disclosure began.

The figure is effectively meaningless as the parties are only obliged to reveal donations above €5,079.

The vast bulk of the disclosed money (€76,552) was given to the Green Party and Sinn Féin by their own elected members.

Fianna Fáil, meanwhile, was the only party to disclose donations above the limit that came from outside the party.

The Standards Commission has long been calling for reform of the system that would require all parties to furnish accounts to an independent authority which would publicly specify all donations.