Detailed guidelines on spending in the Limerick East and Dublin North by-elections will be issued by the Public Offices Commission to the political parties this week.
The parties, particularly Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Progressive Democrats, are hoping the guidelines will clarify the confusion surrounding the interpretation of the Electoral Act which restricts spending on elections.
The Act, which came into force last month, imposes a limit of £20,000 per candidate in the Limerick East five-seater and £17,000 in the Dublin North four-seater. The limit is £14,000 per candidate in a three-seat constituency.
The commission was set up under the 1995 Ethics in Public Office Act to deal mainly with the returns on income and assets made by office-holders, members of the Oireachtas and those nominated to State bodies. Its remit was then extended to cover the implementation of the Electoral Act.
The chairman of the commission is the Ombudsman, Mr Kevin Murphy, and the other members are the Ceann Comhairle, Mr Seamus Pattison, the clerk of the Dail, Mr Kieran Coughlan, the clerk of the Seanad, Ms Deirdre Lane, and the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr John Purcell. There are plans to expand its current secretariat of seven civil servants. The commission's offices are in St Stephen's Green, Dublin.
Under the Act, a candidate has to appoint an agent responsible for expenditure. While the candidate can also act as agent, this is unlikely to happen because of the substantial volume of work involved. A careful eye has to be kept on spending and receipts produced for any expenditure over £100. The agent has to produce a detailed election expenses statement to the commission 56 days after polling day.
According to the Act, "election expenses" means all expenditure incurred in order to "promote or oppose, directly or indirectly", the interests of a political party or a political group. It also includes promoting or opposing, directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate or soliciting votes for or against a candidate.
This includes the traditional elements of an election such as an office, posters, policy documents, some travel costs, newspaper and billboard advertising, as well as advertising on buses and taxis, and party opinion polls taken within 60 days before polling day.
Excluded are such items as candidates' deposits, purchase of copies of the register of electors, and "the reasonable living expenses of a candidate or any person or persons working on behalf of the candidate on a voluntary basis," as well as "minor expenses".
Any facilities paid for out of public funds are also excluded, which means that government ministers ferried about the constituencies in their State cars will not have to meet a sizeable petrol bill at the end of it all.
While the broad terms of the Act are clear, interpreting the finer points of its detail is causing confusion. This is particularly true in understanding the term "reasonable living expenses".
What of the provision of meals for canvassers at the end of a long working day? What if a candidate buys a round of drinks for his or her supporters late at night in a hostelry in some remote part of the constituency?
Commission sources believe this kind of spending will be excluded. Vigilance at all times will be the main asset of a good agent. Should, for instance, a close friend or supporter of a candidate use his or her car during the campaign, the cost involved is excluded. But if the friend has a fleet of cars used for commercial purposes, the cost will be included.
The positive side for the candidates is that the State will pay some of their election expenses if they achieve a certain vote. Candidates who are elected and those who secure a quarter of the quota and save their deposits will each receive £5,000 or the amount spent by them on the campaign if it is less than that figure.
