*Cathal Crowe. Photograph: Natasha Barton
CLARE TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) was forced to return €800 of a €1,000 cash donation by the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo).
According to a Sipo report published on Monday, Deputy Crowe was one of just four Oireachtas members who had to declare donations over the threshold. Under the Electoral Act 1997, public representatives may not accept donations in any year of more than €200 in cash, and not more than €1,000 in total from a single source.
Politicians must disclose any donations valued at (or totalling) €600 or more from an individual source to the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo). Donations below this reporting threshold need not be disclosed to the commission.
Sipo’s report showed that political donations declined steeply in 2021, when compared to the previous year, which was an election year.
Speaking to The Clare Echo on Wednesday, Deputy Crowe revealed that he received the cash donation from a political supporter based in the county. “Politicians are allowed to receive donations, I would have received it in the lead-up to the 2020 General Election. We raised some funds to contest the election which is a costly exercise in itself. I received a donation of €1000 and had that donation came in by cheque or by electronic transfer funds it would have been allowable”.
He stated that the thresholds were “very confusing” and added, “if the donation came by way of cheque it would have been deemed appropriate, the threshold is far lower when it comes to cash. I contacted the donor and reimbursed them”. The Meelick native said he did not receive the money back after reimbursing the supporter.
With controversy also brewing over his party colleague Robert Troy (FF) and his entries of property interests with Sipo, Deputy Crowe said he did not think the Junior Minister should resign. “I think he should come before the Dáil and answer questions. What’s key and central to me is that Sipo say he made his declarations in 2018 and fully disclosed it at the time, in 2020 he omitted the disclosure of a number of properties. That is wrong and an error, he has owned up to it and rightly apologised for it. The Sipo process is convoluted”.
Crowe added, “If Robert had phoned me in 2020 and asked should he included his interests, I wouldn’t know the answer in my head, it is confusing but that is not to make an excuse”.
