Fine Gael: In the 2002 general election, Fine Gael learned the hard way that spending in an election is an issue. In the run-up to, and during the campaign itself, it was outspent by Fianna Fáil by a factor of two to one.
One of the results of its disastrous 2002 election campaign, and subsequent postmortem, was a root-and-branch reform of its fundraising activities.
It appointed a full-time fundraiser for the first time, Anne Strain. Instead of targeting wealthy donors, Fine Gael has concentrated on a major annual draw, which is now netting the party in excess of €500,000 a year. This will be the main source of its financing for the general election campaign.
According to the party's accounts, in 2004 and 2005 Fine Gael raised €1.2 million, the vast majority of it from the draw. It received no declarable donations of more than €5,000 during this period.
Fine Gael has also been spending. It almost outspent Fianna Fáil in its European election campaign in 2004, and to date it has outspent its larger opponent in the pre-2007 election campaign. Publicly the party states that it will spend up to €3.5 million on the 2007 election - €2 million on the pre-election campaign and €1.5 million when the election itself is called.
To date it has been keeping to its word. Last April and May it spent an estimated €170,000 to €250,000 on a billboard poster campaign. Late last month it launched another similar campaign. A nationwide "town hall campaign" was also held earlier this year. The party will also hold at least one, and possibly two major conferences.