The money candidates for President can claim back in expenses is going up by €50,000
The maximum amount of election expenses that can be reimbursed to a candidate at a presidential election is rising from the previous amount of €200,000 up to €250,000.
Election expenses are reimbursed to a candidate at a presidential election if the candidate is either elected or receives enough votes to reach more than one-quarter of the quota.
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Minister for Local Government James Browne signed an order today bringing the change into effect.
A statement released by his department this evening said that the change was made under ministerial powers to adjust the maximum value of expenses alongside inflation.
'Applying the Consumer Price Index increase since the amount was last revised resulted in a potential increase to €252,700, which has been rounded down to €250,000,' the statement said.
Under the Electoral Act 1997, a candidate in a presidential election is not allowed to spend more than €750,000 in total on their campaign.
As President Michael D. Higgins is reaching the end of his term, an election for his successor must be held by 11 November.
Related Reads
Labour Party throws support behind Catherine Connolly as Left unity candidate for president
Fianna Fáil staying schtum on presidential candidate, but here's the names in the mix (so far)
A date has not been formally set yet but there's plenty of talk in political circles about who the candidates will be.
So far, two candidates with enough support to be on the ballot have formally declared themselves: Former EU Commissioner Mairéad McGuinness for Fine Gael and Independent TD Catherine Connolly, who is jointly backed by the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and Labour as a left-wing candidate.
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Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
IDA accused of ignoring Wicklow with less than 30 site visits in a decade
Fianna Fáil Deputy Malcom Byrne has obtained figures which show in the period 2015 to 2024, there have been just 29 visits to County Wicklow organised by the IDA for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) companies. This is out of over 6,000 visits across the country. The 2024 IDA Annual Report showed employment levels within the FDI sector remain above 300,000 for the third consecutive year. The 2024 employment figure of 302,566 represented a slight increase (0.2%) in client employment over 2023 and accounted for 10.8% of overall national employment. IDA Ireland's portfolio now comprises more than 1,800 clients across a range of sectors in every county in Ireland. Deputy Byrne has asked for clarity on why the number of visits is so low. 'The IDA need to be honest as to why there have been so few visits to Wicklow over the past decade and if there are issues with infrastructure or skills as to why they are not bringing companies to the county, they need to spell that out.' 'To tell the truth Wexford does not fare much better with just 41 visits in a decade and I worry that IDA headquarters don't know that the M11 exists.' In response the IDA highlighted that site visits are only one measure of a company's interest in a particular location and may not be a true measure of the overall level of foreign direct investment activity in a region or county. 70pc of FDI won by IDA Ireland in 2024 came from its existing client base, rather than new companies.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Has Ireland become too pricey for tourists? An economist and a tourism industry representative debate
David W Higgins: Ireland's hotel and restaurants prices are almost 30% higher than EU average When tourists travel there are a mix of costs. This can include flights, car rental, souvenirs and guided tours. High on the list is the cost of restaurants and hotels . It's basic. Tourists need somewhere to stay at night and eat throughout the day. The prices set for these items can decide if their trip happens or not. It's therefore disappointing to continually find that Ireland compares poorly across Europe when measuring these costs. Eurostat recently compared countries for the mix of prices on hotels and restaurants in 2024. It found that Ireland was 29.3 per cent higher than the EU average. The only country higher than us was Denmark on 47.6 per cent. There's a silver lining in being second because it means the Danes can feel rich travelling here. I once met a Dane who said coffee in Dublin was really affordable. 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In a given year, many of us spend sizeable amounts with local cafes, pubs and restaurants. Our spend on hotels is a much smaller fraction. Inflation among accommodation providers is up a seismic 77 per cent. It's manageable for locals and sometimes unnoticed because domestic travel is less frequent than our visits to restaurants. Now put yourself into the shoes of international travellers. Their mix of spending is heaviest on accommodation. It's the main plank of their trip. [ Alarm bells are sounding over falling visitor numbers. But is tourism really in crisis? Opens in new window ] The hospitality sector has admittedly faced rising input costs. All sectors have. We can give further allowance to policy changes such as higher minimum wage levels. This has notched up wages across hospitality at a pace higher than in other sectors. You can understand how restaurants, cafes and pubs have had to pass on higher costs. It's just hard to feel sympathy for hotels. But how is this possible? Surely a competitive market will attract new hotels, B&Bs and other sources of supply? The opposite has taken place. The surge in migration sent the Government scrambling for beds. Hotels were offered safe contracts which guaranteed income, instead of the precarious fluctuations they normally face from tourism. Even with International Protection Accommodation Services numbers falling, the latest data shows 7 per cent of hotel rooms are still used for this purpose. Releasing these rooms would mean a welcome easing to price pressures. It's all the more essential given the clouds that now hang over the tourism sector. The latest CSO data on international arrivals showed a 10 per cent decline in May, compared with the same month last year. Travellers from continental Europe are down 21 per cent. You might have expected travellers from America to be down, given the moves in the dollar this year. Numbers are actually up 11 per cent. But this is only cause for more alarm. 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Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Moscow claims UK is plotting mass raids on its fleet of tankers to create ‘ecological catastrophe'
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