Presidential election: How much does it cost to run for the Áras?

Irish Times

2 days ago

With the
presidential election
looming, just how much does it cost to run a successful campaign or otherwise?
It is a question that parties and candidates are considering as they either enter the race or think about doing so.
National poster campaigns, online advertising and campaign teams cost money and a lot of it.
The six candidates in 2018 declared a total spend of €1.36 million in the race for the Áras.
The 2011 election cost even more, with more than €2.3 million in spending across seven candidates.
Fine Gael has decided to go for it and run a candidate – former European commissioner
Mairead McGuinness
– for an office the party has never held, and having been burned by presidential elections in the past.
Independent left-wing Galway West TD
Catherine Connolly
is also in the race with the backing of smaller parties and Independents to get on the ballot paper.
Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin have yet to decide if they will enter the fray.
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Presidential elections are fraught with risks for candidates and political parties.
Professor of politics at University College Dublin David Farrell says these risks are 'not just financial', but 'reputational' also.
'There have been plenty of examples of campaigns that have completely come unstuck in all sorts of ways that couldn't have been anticipated,' he says. 'It's a courageous person who puts themselves forward and I think particularly if they're representing one of the larger parties, that in itself could come home to bite them if they don't do particularly well.'
Farrell suggests that Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin may face embarrassment if they do not enter the race, but could also look bad, temporarily at least, if they do and their candidates do not perform well.
Independent TD Catherine Connolly has held a press conference outside Leinster House where she spoke about her plans to run for president. Video: Bryan O'Brien
It may be a case of 'they're damned if they do and they're damned if they don't', he says.
There is some State support when it comes to the costs, but only if a candidate wins or reaches more than 25 per cent of the quota. Under those circumstances, they are entitled to a reimbursement of election expenses up to a maximum of €250,000.
However, there is no guarantee of getting any money back, as recent elections have shown.
Just two of the six candidates in the 2018 election got refunds – the winner, President Michael D Higgins and the Independent candidate who came second, Peter Casey.
Mr Higgins's re-election campaign cost just over €367,000, the most spent that year, and it was reimbursed up to the then-maximum sum of €200,000.
Mr Casey, meanwhile, was refunded the full amount of his expenses, which amounted to €119,911.
Sinn Féin spent some €209,716 on its 2018 candidate Liadh Ní Riada's campaign, but lost out on any reimbursement as her vote share was too low.
The most expensive campaign of recent times was Fine Gael's unsuccessful attempt to get former MEP Gay Mitchell elected in 2011. Mitchell's campaign – which cost €527,152 – did not qualify for any reimbursement after he secured only 6.4 per cent of the first preference votes.
It was a disastrous result and one that Fine Gael – and the other two large parties deliberating on entering the upcoming election – will want to avoid.
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Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin all had considerable costs last year as they fought local, European and Limerick mayoral elections in June and the general election in November.
All three parties recorded deficits for 2024, according to financial statements.
Fine Gael and Sinn Féin reported more cash reserves than Fianna Fáil. But this comes with the proviso that any of this that comes from State funding cannot be used for election purposes.
Fine Gael remortgaged its Dublin headquarters last September to raise money in advance of the general election.
The party did not offer an estimate on how much it will spend on McGuinness's election campaign.
A statement indicated it will run 'a vigorous' campaign, which will be 'funded from the party's fundraising activities, the vast majority of which comes from the Fine Gael Superdraw'.
It said all campaign spending 'will be in line with electoral guidelines and published with Sipo [Standards in Public Office Commission] after the election'.
Fianna Fáil's financial statements for last year indicated 'net expenditure on election activity of €1,600,112 in 2024, contributing to a debt position at the end of the year of €1,527,288 which was in line with our projections at this point of the Dáil cycle'. The party said it will clear this debt and 'build an election fund for the future election cycles in this Dáil period'.
It is understood that Fianna Fáil held a fundraising draw earlier this year that raised about €600,000.
There are mixed views within Fianna Fáil on whether the cost of the presidential election will influence the decision on whether or not to contest it.
One source suggested the party's finances will be a 'huge factor' and it is a reason 'not to run someone for the sake of running someone'.
A different Fianna Fáil source said the identity of the candidate and strategy, not costs, will be what is taken into account in the decision-making.
Another source said there is a strong view within the parliamentary party that Fianna Fáil should field a candidate, but it has to be the right one. 'There's no point in having a candidate and spending half a million euro and getting no positive result,' said the source.
A separate source said the cost of the election 'is a factor' in Fianna Fáil's decision, but added: 'Is it a dominating factor? I don't believe it is. The party will want to see a viable candidate, one that can compete, and that will be the dominating factor.'
There has been speculation about potential Fianna Fáil candidates, including former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, to ex-ministers Mary Hanafin and Éamon Ó Cuív. None appear to have been met with much enthusiasm within the party.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has ruled himself out and is consulting with the party on its approach to the election. It could be September before he makes a final decision on running a candidate.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, meanwhile, surprised many recently by not ruling herself out as a candidate as her party continues its deliberations.
The Irish Times previously reported there is little appetite within Sinn Féin for her to run, with sources saying they would prefer her to stay in the Dáil, leading efforts to get into government.
Sinn Féin may yet join other left-wing parties in backing Connolly.
On the extent to which the cost of a campaign is influencing its deliberations, a Sinn Féin source said: 'The internal party discussion on the approach to contesting the upcoming presidential elections are primarily political. Financing a campaign is not the determining factor.'
At her campaign launch last month, Connolly said she self-funded her last two Dáil election campaigns, and it will be 'big shift for me to move up and look at a national campaign with a serious amount of money'.
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Fine Gael says Mairead McGuinness 'acted in full accordance' with medical advice after being injured in crash
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She said she would be asking for contributions and the parties backing her are also 'open to providing funds in whatever way they see fit'.
The Social Democrats said they are 'proud' to be supporting Connolly, adding: 'While we envisage there will be a financial contribution from the party, the bulk of donations will come from individuals and fundraising efforts around the country.'
The Labour Party – also supporting Connolly – said it is 'finalising our approach to the upcoming presidential campaign'.
A statement noted: 'As is standard practice, a separate fundraising stream will be established specifically for the purposes of the presidential campaign.'
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Labour Party backs Catherine Connolly's bid for Áras
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The Connolly campaign has been fundraising through its website and a spokeswoman said: 'We're very encouraged by the support Catherine Connolly is getting from around the country. It's really going to be a grassroots campaign.'
As of Monday afternoon, the campaign has raised almost €35,000 in less than three weeks.
On the evidence of previous presidential elections, Connolly's campaign, and those of any rivals in the race, will need a lot more.