On Saturday, Sinn Féin senator David Cullinane was asked where any money above the €530 per week allowance he received from the party went. He replied “into the local constituency employing people who work for the party.”
When I asked the senator David Cullinane where the legislation governing political donations made a distinction between money donated to Sinn Féin headquarters, which has to be declared to SIPO, the Standards in Public Office Commission, and money donated to the party at a constituency level, his answer was “you can spend your money on your constituency office. You are limited in what you can donate directly to a party. Difference.”
Sinn Fein regularly point to their “average wage” commitment. Cullinane’s arrangement is not unique, it is policy followed by all its TDs and senators.
The Electoral Act, 1997, section 22, includes in the definition of a party “a body or association which forms part of such political party, is established by or under the constitution of the political party, or is effectively controlled by the political party or the officers thereof, or has functions conferred on it by or under the constitution of the party. ”
“Donation” means any contribution given for political purposes by any person, whether or not a member of a political party, to a political party, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election… [Section 22(2)(a)]
In other words, no difference.
Comments
7 responses to “Difference”
Sinn Féin and SIPO: Difference (or what the legislation actually says) http://t.co/hOgMp3wV
Good work Gerard, keep it up, am waiting for the results of this, it will be very interesting.
SF are by no means the ‘cahmpion’ of the ‘people’. They play the Green card to hide their duplicity. SF represent the petty bourgeois who are desperately trying to get on top. Like these types they have no scruples and put on a face of crude ‘concern’ etc
McGuinness’s rationalsation of the cuts SF have imposed in the North another example of the Green card (‘a big boy made me do it’). A truly Republican party would be leading truly non-sectaian campaign against the Stormont regime for social equality, i.e socialism.
There are no national soloutions.
[…] McGuinness, of course, has been the other real big story of the week, and nothing that he has said, either since his nomination or in past clips that have come to light, makes me want to give him any sort of preference. He has labelled critics “West Brits”. He claims to never have had even an indirect hand in the death of anyone during the Troubles, a ridiculous statement to be believed only by the most deluded SF member. His plans to draw only the industrial wage, like the entire SF wage policy in that regard, is deeply suspect. […]
Interesting article by @faduda
http://t.co/4V3GcWLq
[…] – The constant talk about Sinn Fein’s wage policy does not change the dodginess. […]
[…] The specific legislation concerned is in Section 24 of the Electoral Act of 1997 (which is well worth going through to test the argument below for loopholes). Sitting snugly under Fadada’s story on Martin McGuinness there is another one which details a prima facae case that Senator David Cullinane may be breach of the donation rules. […]