Electoral Reform Act 2022

Fixed payment notices

193. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section:

“82A. (1) Where a person commits an offence under a relevant provision, the Standards in Public Office Commission may serve a notice (in this section referred to as a ‘fixed payment notice’) on the person.

(2) The fixed payment notice shall—

(a) be in a form directed by the Minister,

(b) state that the person is alleged to have committed an offence under the relevant provision concerned,

(c) state that the person is not obliged to pay the fixed payment,

(d) state that, if the fixed payment is paid to the Commission by the date specified in it, a prosecution in respect of the offence under the relevant provision concerned will not be initiated, and

(e) contain details of how the fixed payment is to be paid.

(3) The fixed payment notice may be served on the person:

(a) by sending it to the person by electronic means to an email address, fax number or other electronic contact point used by the person for receiving emails, faxes or other electronic messages and a record that the email, fax or other electronic message has been sent to the person is made for the sender by the email system, fax machine or other electronic system used;

(b) by delivering it to the person;

(c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter or by any other form of recorded delivery service to—

(i) in the case of an individual, the address at which the individual ordinarily resides or any other address provided by the individual for the purposes of this section,

(ii) in the case of a company, its registered office, or

(iii) in the case of any other body corporate or unincorporated body, its principal office or place of business.

(4) The fixed payment is €200.

(5) No prosecution in respect of the offence under the relevant provision shall be initiated against the person—

(a) until after the date specified in the fixed payment notice as that by which the fixed payment is to be paid, or

(b) at all, if the fixed payment is paid to the Standards in Public Office Commission before that date.

(6) The amount of any fixed payment received by the Standards in Public Office Commission under this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer as the Minister for Finance directs.

(7) In this section, ‘relevant provision’ means section 25(1)(c), 25(1A)(a), 43(2)(c) (insofar as it relates to section 36(1)(a)), 43(3)(b), 61(2)(c), 61(2)(f), 61(3)(b) or 92(1)(c).”.