€8.8m election funding from unknown sources

IRISH political parties must keep proper books and accounts and have them independently audited, an independent report on corruption and transparency of party funding has said.

State funding for the country’s parties was just short of €5 million in 2008, while private donations disclosed to the Standards in Public Office (SIPO) amounted to just €96,523.

It pointed out that of the €10.1m spent by parties and candidates in the 2007 general elections, only €1.3m was disclosed and there was no information on the source of the remaining €8.8m.

Repeated requests by SIPO for greater transparency and accountability on money spent during elections have been backed up by the report drawn up for the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption. The report opens by praising what it describes as the thorough regulatory system as well as the role played by SIPO in monitoring compliance.

But it makes seven recommendations that it says are needed to increase transparency and control over political finances and remove any whiff of corruption.

“It is crucial that full party accounts, including financial information on local branches and so-called third parties, are made publicly available,” it says. It acknowledges that parties tend to keep books which they show on request, but says it should be mandatory to make them public.

It says limits on the size of donations to be reported should be abolished and all donations should be itemised. Currently only donations over €5,078.96 to parties and more than €634.87 to candidates have to be disclosed.

It says, all the dispersed rules on party funding should be gathered into a comprehensive, clear and up-to-date law.