Political parties received almost €1million in disclosed and undisclosed political donations up to the end of 2021.
The latest report from the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) has revealed that 23 registered parties told SIPO they hold €938,313 from small donations in bank accounts.
These donations up to €1,500 and the identity of those giving the cash gifts do not have to be revealed.
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Parties must open an official bank account to hold these types of donations.
If a donation is over €1,500, the party must name who gave them the money, while parties are no longer allowed to accept donations of over €2,500 from a single person in any one year.
The figures show that in 2021 political parties received a total of €193,511 in donations above €1,500.
Only six parties made returns of this kind and they were Aontú, who declared 5,000, Fine Gael €58,695, the Green Party, €25,624, Sinn Féin €70,692, The Labour Party €28,600 and The Workers Party, €4,900.
There were a total 23 registered political parties in 2021.
They include such random and fringe parties as the Communist Party of Ireland, Party for Animal Welfare and the Irish Freedom Party.
One party, Identity Ireland, did not comply with its statutory obligation to submit a donation statement, certificate of monetary donations, and a statutory declaration in respect of political donations received in 2021.
The details do not necessarily reflect all political donations received during the reporting year as parties must disclose to the Commission details of donations above €1,500 in value only.
SIPO is the State’s electoral watchdog, an independent, impartial body charged with oversight of the country’s various Ethics Acts.
It was founded in 2001 after a decade of corruption scandals rocked the Irish political system and drove demands for reform of political funding.
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