POLITICIANS HAVE DISCLOSED donations last year totalling almost €6,500.

The latest report from the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) reveals that Labour TD Alan Kelly declared the highest sum of €1,990.

That comprises of two €995 donations, one from his brother CEO of Teneo Declan Kelly and the other from the Irish-born businessman Michael Madden who is Chairman of Teneo.

Under donations declared by donors, Madden also disclosed a donation of €1,000 to Joan Freeman, who ran for the Irish presidency last year. 

Declan Kelly co-founded consulting firm Teneo Holdings with American businessman Doug Band, one of former US president Bill Clinton’s closest aides.

Kelly is the brother of former Environment Minister and Labour TD Alan Kelly and served as Hillary Clinton’s economic envoy to Northern Ireland from 2009-2011, when she was US Secretary of State.

Political donations

Under the current law governing donations politicians cannot accept more than €1,000 from a single source, and they must disclose donations greater than €600.

Each year, the political watchdog publishes the names of donors and the sums they contribute.

Fianna Fáil housing spokesman Darragh O’Brien received a total of €1,590 in donations.

Constituent Leo Neary from Lusk donated €740 to O’Brien while €850 was donated by Barry O’Donoghue from Malahide.

Fianna Fáil’s Justice spokesperson Jim O’Callaghan got a €1,000 donation from the Fianna Fáil’s Dublin Bay South branch.

The watchdog states that Independent Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath received a €900 donation from Donal O’Driscoll from Blackrock, County Dublin.

Sinn Féin Senator Pádraig MacLochlainn received a €1,000 donation from Donegal Office Services, which is a registered corporate donor, according to Sipo. 

In total, donations to politicians for 2018 accounted for a total of €6,480.

The donations received last year were slightly higher than 2017 – in which politicians received €6,360. Michael Madden and Donegal Office Services featured on this list also. 

In 2016, the total value of donations €72,969.12 were disclosed by members, with some high-profile businessmen listed as donors, such as former U2 manager Paul McGuinness and billionaire Dermot Desmond.