Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1998

Amendment of section 22 of Act of 1997.

5.—Section 22(2) of the Act of 1997 is hereby amended—

(a) in paragraph (b) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (iii):

“(iii) benefits derived from—

(I) a service rendered by an individual, including the use of the individual's motor vehicle, on behalf of a political party, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad, European or local election where that service is gratuitous and is not part of that individual's work carried out under a contract of employment, or where the individual is self employed, in the course of the individual's business or in the practice of the individual's profession, or

(II) a service rendered at an election by an individual in the employment of a political party, including the use of the individual's motor vehicle, whether the individual's remuneration is paid out of the party's resources or out of public funds, on behalf of a candidate of that party at a Dáil, Seanad, European or local election where the individual is not in receipt of any reward or benefit in kind other than his or her normal remuneration in consideration of that service,”,

(b) in paragraph (b) (v) by the substitution of “European election,” for “European election;”,

(c) in paragraph (b) by the addition of the following subparagraph:

“(vi) election expenses incurred by a political party pursuant to section 32(1)(b) or 33(1)(b), as the case may be, on behalf of a candidate authenticated by the political party at a Dáil or European election, other than a donation of money;”,

and

(d) in paragraph (c) by the substitution of the following subparagraphs for subparagraphs (i) and (ii):

“(i) to a political party if it is made to the party, to any branch or subsidiary organisation thereof, to any candidate of the party at a local election, to any member of the party who is a member of a local authority, to any officer, member or agent of the party or of any branch or subsidiary organisation thereof, or, subject to subparagraph (ii), to any candidate of the party at a Dáil, Seanad or European election, or to any member of the party who is a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a representative in the European Parliament or to any agent or other person acting for him or her,

(ii) to a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election if it is made to him or her or to any agent or other person acting for him or her unless the donation is passed on to a political party of which he or she is a member and a written acknowledgment is received by the member, representative or candidate, as the case may be, from the political party in respect of the donation, in which case, it shall be deemed to be a donation to that political party,”.