FF ‘election-ready’ after major boost to party’s finances
FIANNA FÁIL will be “election-ready” after boasting perhaps its best financial position in more than three decades.
The party has cleared its debts, according to newly filed accounts. And it is poised to swell its coffers by around €500,000 if its upcoming national superdraw replicates last year’s success.
The financial boost will leave the party well-placed to fight a general election early next year in the event of a failure to renew the confidence and supply deal in which Fianna Fáil props up the Fine Gael-led minority Government.
The two parties exchanged documents yesterday ahead of the formal opening of talks on the arrangement tomorrow.
Sources said the Fine Gael document was “simple and to the point” where Fianna Fáil is keen for a “very detailed” analysis.
While no deadlines have been set for talks, Fine Gael ministers now see November 17 as a key date for progress.
The party’s Ard Fheis will take place that weekend and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will want to give supporters some indication of when the country will go to the polls.
“If Fianna Fáil’s plan is to drag these talks out for months, then there will be a row from the start,” said a Government source.
“We don’t want an election. We want a new deal that runs until summer 2020.”
A number of ministers told the Irish Independent that Mr Varadkar sees huge risks attached to having a pre-Christmas election but is weighing this up against the risk of having Fianna Fáil force a new year election.
It comes as the Standards in Public Office Commission published 2017 accounts for all the political parties last night.
The Fianna Fáil return shows it had a surplus of almost €1.4m and used it to clear debts that historically stood at nearly €4m, as well as to improve the cash reserves of the party.
However, it will still be hardpressed to match Fine Gael’s spending power during an election campaign.
The rival party enjoyed a surplus of €1.6m in 2017 and made around €647,000 from its own national draw last year after fundraising expenses are deducted. Nevertheless, Fianna Fáil’s 2017 accounts – signed off on last March – strike an optimistic tone.
Its honorary treasurers, including Limerick TD Niall Collins, reported: “Financially the organisation is now in one of its most encouraging positions in [more than] 30 years.”
They also pointed to fundraising income of more than €1.2m and the absence of any election campaign expenditure in 2017 as helping to deliver an overall surplus of €1.39m.
The report says the party’s financial position is “now relatively a positive one”.
Focused
The treasurers were said to be focused on ensuring Fianna Fáil’s finances are “well-positioned for the challenges emanating from the upcoming electoral cycle” and they stressed the importance of fundraising “to that end”.
The treasurers say the party’s national collection and superdraw are “vitally important to achieving this”.
The national collection – which takes place each April and May – brought in net income of €179,000 last year.
The Fianna Fáil superdraw took in around €487,000 in 2017 once the costs of holding it were stripped out.
In relation to other parties, Sinn Féin’s accounts show a deficit of €48,663 in 2017 but also an accumulated fund of €1.7m.
The Labour Party accounts show it recorded a surplus of €150,000 in 2017.
Fianna Fáil had a surplus of almost €1.4m in 2017