Press release
Minister Murphy Announces Spending Period for the 2019 Local Elections
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
Mr. Eoghan Murphy, T.D., Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, today (27 March 2019) announced he has made an order setting the spending period that will apply to all candidates standing in the local elections to be held on 24 May 2019.
The Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 (Period for Reckoning Election Expenses) Order 2019 provides that the spending period for the 2019 local elections will commence on 30 March 2019 and will end on polling day, 24 May 2019, inclusive.
Spending limits were first introduced for the local elections in 2009 under the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 and were subsequently revised for the local elections in 2014. Depending on the population of the local electoral area in a city, county or city and county council the spending limit for each candidate is either €9,750, €11,500 or €13,000.
Local election spending limits
| Local electoral area | Candidate spending limit |
| Population in excess of 35,000 | €13,000 |
| Population between 18,001 and 35,000 | €11,500 |
| Population of 18,000 or less | €9,750 |
Under the Act, a candidate nominated by a political party is deemed to automatically allocate 10% of his/her spending limit to the political party’s national agent. For example, a party candidate with a limit of €13,000 would be deemed to automatically allocate €1,300 for use by his/her political party. The candidates’ effective limit would therefore be €11,700. The 10% figure can be varied upwards or downwards by written agreement between the candidate and national agent of the political party. The total of the combined amounts assigned to the national agent and that retained by a candidate must not exceed the candidate’s total spending limit.
Election spending incurred during the spending period for the election must be reported to the local authority concerned within 90 days of polling day and must be below the specified limit. In addition, expenses incurred by a candidate before the commencement of the spending period must also be accounted for in the election expenses statement if the expenses relate to property, goods or services for use at the election during the election spending period.
The maximum amount that can be accepted as a donation in the same calendar year by a member of a local authority or by a local election candidate from the same source is €1,000. Details of donations which exceed €600 must be disclosed in a statement made to the relevant local authority. A candidate or member of a local authority that receives a monetary donation that exceeds €100 must open and maintain a political donations account in a financial institution in the State.
Certain donations are either prohibited or restricted. It is prohibited to accept a donation from an anonymous source which exceeds €100. Donations from persons resident outside of the State (other than Irish citizens) irrespective of their value are prohibited. Donations in cash which exceed €200 are also prohibited. There are specific rules covering corporate donations which exceed €200 – the donor must be registered with the Standards in Public Office Commission and evidence that the donation was approved by the corporate body must be provided.