Commission must be told about contributions

The Electoral Act 1997 was amended in 1998 to introduce an obligation whereby companies which make an aggregate donation in excess of £4,000 (€5,078) to any one political party in a calendar year, must notify the Public Offices Commission.

All donations in excess of £500 to individual politicians and candidates in certain elections, must be notified by politicians or candidates to the commission and will be publicised by it. The law applies to money, services, goods or the use of property, and for the latter three categories all contributions must be notified at their commercial value. These rules will apply in the European elections on June 11th and legislation is pending to make them apply in the local elections also.

Companies are obliged to note donations in excess of £4,000 in their annual reports and annual accounts, and these may be inspected by the commission. No penalty exists under the Electoral Act for companies which fail to comply with the obligation, though to fail to do so may constitute an offence under the Companies Act.