Business School’s donation to Michael D’s election war chest

Bradley Bytes – A Political Column with Dara Bradley

Galway Business School in Salthill made a corporate donation of €1,000 to President Michael D Higgins’ re-election campaign last year.

Its name is among a list of 40 donors, who contributed €1,000 to MDH’s Presidential election campaign in 2018.
The names, published by the Standards in Public Office (SIPO), include well-known Irish and Galway businesspeople, investors, developers and cultural practitioners.
Among them are: Tom O’Connor, John Coyle, Ronnie O’Gorman, Seán Páircéir, Charles J Sinnott, Padraic Rathigan, and Michael Dwan.
The value of donations greater than €600, received by Michael D, was €41,300; more than half of the overall total (€74,300) received by all candidates in the Presidential election. SIPO rules state that all donations received by a candidate exceeding €600 must be disclosed on their Donation Statement.
Some €1,000 is the maximum donation that may be accepted by a candidate in a particular year from an individual or corporate donor.
As well as being the greatest beneficiary of donations, President Higgins’ total campaign expenditure (€367,388) was more than any of his rivals.
The breakdown of spend included almost €50,000 on advertising, over €75,000 on posters, and €143,000 on ‘other’ election material. Staff costs were around €38,000, according to his expenses’ statement.
MDH, who won the election with a landslide 54% of the vote, was reimbursed €200,000 because he was elected. The only other candidate to be reimbursed was Peter Casey (he got all of his €191,000 expenses back), because he reached a quarter of the quota. Gavin Duffy spent €163,437; Peter Casey spent €119,911; Joan Freeman spent €253,194; and Seán Gallagher spent €246,820. All were Independents. Sinn Féin’s Liadh Ní Riada spent €209,715.
Unlike, say, a tax defaulters’ list, being named among the donors – actively participating in the democratic process and supporting civil society – is something to be proud of, regardless of which candidate was supported. And isn’t it great that we live in a democracy where there is openness and transparency about who donated what, and how was it spent?

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