Fianna Fáil only party not to receive donations above €1,500

Fianna Fáil was the only major political party not to receive a donation last year above the €1,500 threshold which requires such contributions to be declared publicly.

The figures published by the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) show that Fine Gael raised the most in 2014, the year of the local and European elections, with €102,567.

However, all of these donations came from TDs and MEPs, with Brian Hayes, elected as an MEP for Dublin last year, giving the highest amount of €2,233.

Donations exceeding €1,500 must be disclosed and the maximum value of donations which a political party can accept from the same donor in the same year is €2,500. Taoiseach Enda Kenny donated €1,686 to his party.

A Fianna Fáil spokesman said all of its fundraising for 2014 came under the €1,500 limit, and comprised national superdraw ticket sales, receipts from its national collection, tickets for its annual Cáirde Fáil dinner and membership subs.

The Socialist Party registered €30,405 in donations, the Green Party €3,600, Sinn Féin €1,520, the Labour Party €5,000, the United Left Alliance €2,500, People Before Profit €2,500, the Anti-Austerity Alliance (AAA) €13,400 and Workers and Unemployed Action €4,900.

However, there is some overlap between the donors to the AAA and Socialist Party. For example, TDs Paul Murphy and Joe Higgins donated to both.