Fine Gael has €2.25m election fund

Fine Gael is facing into the general election this year in a healthy financial state, with funds of €2.25 million available, while sources within Fianna Fáil claim the party is €3 million in debt.

Fine Gael raised more than ¤1 million in its recent superdraw and now "has access to" up to €2.25 million, according to director of elections and Carlow-Kilkenny TD Phil Hogan.

Fianna Fáil's superdraw in March raised less than €600,000, with a national collection contributing additional funds.

A number of Fianna Fáil TDs, speaking on the basis of anonymity, claimed the party was at least €3 million in debt.

"They owe €3 million. I think that's pretty much an open secret," one TD said.

This is strongly denied by party officials, however, who insist the debt is small and manageable but will not comment on its actual size.

The Labour Party is proposing to spend about €1 million in 2011.

Fianna Fáil TDs say donors are "throwing money" at Fine Gael. Mr Hogan rejected this, saying most of the cash had been raised directly from members and supporters in the last two superdraws.

The 2010 fundraising raffle collected €1,056,640 after 13,208 tickets were sold at €80 each. A small amount of money would be borrowed, while "bits and pieces" of corporate donations had come into head office, he added.

"We don't expect to get much from the corporate sector," Mr Hogan added. "The climate is not there. A business person would find it difficult to defend to their board giving money for election purposes when they are struggling to keep jobs."

Fianna Fáil's coffers have been depleted by a number of campaigns, including the two Lisbon Treaty referendums and the Donegal South- West byelection. Traditional Fianna Fáil fundraising events cancelled for reasons of optics include the Taoiseach's annual Cáirde Fáil dinner and the Galway Races tent.

In a recent interview with The Irish Times, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport Mary Hanafin said: "Finances aren't good. I suppose they haven't been good for a while, we've been fighting a number of elections."

While she did not comment on the issue of the party's debt, she said the cancellation of the Cáirde Fáil was "a loss". The event did not go ahead as planned in November, although more than 900 tickets were sold.
"It was as much to do with the timing, with all that's happening economically, rather than anything else," Ms Hanafin said.

Cancelled events have not been replaced by alternative methods of gathering money, according to a person previously involved in party fundraising, who did not want to be named.

"[Former taoiseach] Bertie [Ahern], whatever people think about him, set up a fantastic situation. There's no Des Richardson, no party fundraiser. The current leadership has done nothing. All the big ticket fundraising is closed.
"Galway was an iconic event that happened once a year. All they had to do was give half the money to charity.
I think it was foolish to close the Galway Races tent, there's been nothing to replace it. They've stopped all the events and there are no alternatives."

The source also claimed the national draw had been cancelled because activists "revolted" and said they either would not or could not sell tickets for the fundraising raffle.

Party officials insist a shorter election draw will take place in the new year, with a national draw to follow after the poll.

Meanwhile, Labour's director of elections Ruairí Quinn, TD for Dublin South East, has personally signed letters to thousands of business and professional people asking them to donate up €1,000 to the party.

"It's not going to be bells, whistles and razzmatazz, because that's not where the electorate's mood is. It's going to be about offering people hope," he said.

In 2007, Mr Quinn said Labour spent €12,000-€14,000 in each constituency it contested, when the party ran just one candidate in most.