LAST UPDATE | 14 Jan 2023

PUBLIC EXPENDITURE MINISTER Paschal Donohoe has said he is conducting a full review of all records from the 2016 general election, after it emerged that a complaint has been made about his finances from that time.

A spokesperson for Donohoe said: “The Minister is aware of a complaint made to SIPO [Standards in Public Office]. He will engage with SIPO on the matter.

“The Minister has always held himself to the highest standards in the conduct of his work. He is now conducting a full review of all records from that time.”

The complaint, which was revealed in the Sunday Independent this evening, concerns allegations that Donohoe failed to properly declare a donation from an engineering firm during the 2016 general election campaign.

It is alleged that the firm used two company vans and six employees to erect and later remove election posters for the minister in his Dublin Central constituency.

Donohoe told the Sunday Independent via his spokesperson that the work was carried out for free, but it was not declared to SIPO because it was worth less than relevant donation limits.

The complaint alleges that the value of the work was over the limit.

Under SIPO’s rules, candidates may accept a maximum total of €1,000 from one source over a calendar year. Corporate donations of over €200, as well as services worth more than that amount, must be declared to SIPO.

The Journal has contacted SIPO for comment.

Donohoe was returned on the 11th count in the election, along with independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald took the first of the three seats in the constituency, on the sixth count.