Standards in Public Office Commission reports on donations disclosed by political parties for 2020

Figures released today by the Standards in Public Office Commission show that political parties disclosed donations received in 2020 valued at €152,686.

There were 24 political parties registered during 2020, two more than in 2019.

By March 31 each year, each registered party must furnish a donation statement to the Commission disclosing donations received for the previous year exceeding €1,500 in value.

The maximum amount that may be accepted from the same donor in the same year is €2,500.

While parties may also receive donations of lesser amounts, only those above the statutory declaration threshold fall to be disclosed to the Commission.

The amounts set out in this report, therefore, only reflect donations received that were above the declaration threshold, and are not an account of all donations received by a party during the reporting year.

Political party accounting units are also required to submit to the Commission a certificate of monetary donations and a bank statement from their political donations accounts.

Political party accounting units are not required to provide a donation statement as is the case with their parent parties. The aggregate closing balance held by accounting units in relation to 2020 was €544,722.

An accounting unit is a branch or other subsidiary organisation of a political party which receives a donation in excess of €100 in any year.

As with political parties, an accounting unit, on receipt of a monetary donation in excess of €100, must open and maintain a political donations account in a financial institution in the State.

In accordance with the legislation, certificates of monetary donations and bank statements furnished to the Commission by political parties and accounting units are not laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas nor put on public display.

The Commission’s report, entitled Donations to Political Parties 2020, gives details of the donations disclosed by political parties as well as information on accounting units.

The report and the political party donations statements are available at: https://www.sipo.ie/reports-and-publications/annual-disclosures/