{"id":464212,"date":"2026-05-02T01:57:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T01:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/464212\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T01:57:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T01:57:12","slug":"green-party-loses-e877000-in-state-funding-due-to-heavy-electoral-losses-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/464212\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Party loses \u20ac877,000 in State funding due to heavy electoral losses \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/green-party\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/green-party\/\">Green Party<\/a> lost out on \u20ac877,000 in State funding last year due to its poor results in the last round of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/dail-eireann\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/dail-eireann\/\">D\u00e1il<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/seanad-eireann\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/seanad-eireann\/\">Seanad<\/a> elections. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The party\u2019s 16-strong <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/oireachtas\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/oireachtas\/\">Oireachtas<\/a> presence was reduced to just one TD and one Senator after it took an electoral hammering following a period in a coalition government with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/fianna-fail\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/fianna-fail\/\">Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/fine-gael\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/fine-gael\/\">Fine Gael<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Expenditure statements for the Greens have not yet been published by the State watchdog, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/standards-in-public-office-commission\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/standards-in-public-office-commission\/\">Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo)<\/a>, but figures provided by the party to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/\">The Irish Times<\/a> put its State funding at \u20ac417,000 for last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">An unaudited figure provided by the Green Party suggested its funding fell by \u20ac877,000 in comparison to 2024. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cThe sharp reduction in State funding has resulted in a reconfiguration of the party staffing levels and related activities,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Overall, political parties shared more than \u20ac15.7 million in State funding last year with most benefiting from a significant increase to their coffers due to the election results. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">There are two streams of State funding: exchequer funding under the Electoral Act 1997 and the parliamentary activities allowance (PAA). Political parties qualify for exchequer funding once they receive at least 2 per cent of the first-preference vote in a general election. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The PAA is paid to registered political parties that have at least one TD or senator and payment levels are based on Oireachtas representation. There is also a PAA scheme for Independent TDs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">While seven of the parties that qualify for the allowances recorded increases in the sums received, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/people-before-profit-solidarity-pbps\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/people-before-profit-solidarity-pbps\/\">People Before Profit-Solidarity<\/a> also experienced a reduction after returning fewer politicians to Leinster House. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The party\u2019s representation in the D\u00e1il fell from five to three after the 2024 general election. It received \u20ac547,311 in State funding last year, down \u20ac90,724 on what was paid in 2024. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">All of the parties that recorded an increase in funding won more D\u00e1il seats in 2024 than they had going into the general election. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Government parties receive a reduced per-TD PAA payment due to the Civil Service support available to ministers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-it-article-body__interstitial-link\">[\u00a0<a aria-label=\"Open related story\" class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/politics\/2026\/05\/01\/line-up-of-candidates-finalised-for-two-byelections-on-may-22nd\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">From Gerry Hutch to Ray McAdam: Candidates lists finalised for Dublin Central and Galway West byelectionsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The sums available through both State funding streams have risen over the years in line with general Civil Service pay increases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Among the permitted uses for State funding paid to parties are general administration, research, training and policy formation. State funding cannot be used for election expenses.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Sinn F&#xE9;in leader Mary Lou McDonald. Photograph: Sam Boal\/Collins Photos\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/LU7DIMDD57L6XIKOPSYLG3FHGQ.JPG\"   width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald. Photograph: Sam Boal\/Collins Photos <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/sinn-fein\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/sinn-fein\/\">Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a> continues to receive the most State funding of any of the parties, securing payments of \u20ac3,895,105 last year, an increase of \u20ac36,490 on 2024. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/fianna-fail\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/fianna-fail\/\">Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s<\/a> State funding came to a total of \u20ac3,856,415, up \u20ac274,319 on the previous year. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/fine-gael\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/fine-gael\/\">Fine Gael<\/a> last year received \u20ac3,632,285, an increase of \u20ac341,476 from 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/labour-party\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/labour-party\/\"> Labour Party\u2019s<\/a> State funding amounted to \u20ac1,357,539, up \u20ac262,279 on the 2024 total. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/social-democrats\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/social-democrats\/\">Social Democrats<\/a> received \u20ac1,316,063, up \u20ac529,612 on 2024 following strong election results.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/independent-ireland\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/independent-ireland\/\">Independent Ireland\u2019s<\/a> State funding expenditure statements have not yet been published by Sipo. It has four D\u00e1il seats and received \u20ac701,265 in State funding last year, according to figures provided by its spokesman. This was \u20ac593,090 more than the combined \u20ac108,175 three of its TDs previously got under the PAA scheme for Independent TDs in 2024. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Sipo is yet to publish <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/aontu\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/aontu\/\">Aont\u00fa\u2019s<\/a> State funding returns and the party did not provide figures in response to requests from The Irish Times about the payments it received last year. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The sums received by Aont\u00fa would likely push the combined total of State funding provided to all qualifying political parties last year to more than \u20ac16 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-it-article-body__interstitial-link\">[\u00a0<a aria-label=\"Open related story\" class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/politics\/2026\/02\/28\/does-the-green-party-have-a-future-members-say-climate-has-slipped-down-political-agenda\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Does the Green Party have a future? Members say climate has slipped down political agendaOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Green Party lost out on \u20ac877,000 in State funding last year due to its poor results in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464213,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[49,9,10,4767,18,13,14,4771,553,18577,6,19,7062,17,9171,11,12,15,16,5,4766,27171,12417,47,18578,69289,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-464212","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-aontu","9":"tag-breaking-news","10":"tag-breakingnews","11":"tag-dail-eireann","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-featured-news","14":"tag-featurednews","15":"tag-fianna-fail","16":"tag-fine-gael","17":"tag-green-party","18":"tag-headlines","19":"tag-ie","20":"tag-independent-ireland","21":"tag-ireland","22":"tag-labour-party","23":"tag-latest-news","24":"tag-latestnews","25":"tag-main-news","26":"tag-mainnews","27":"tag-news","28":"tag-oireachtas","29":"tag-people-before-profit-solidarity-pbps","30":"tag-seanad-eireann","31":"tag-sinn-fein","32":"tag-social-democrats","33":"tag-standards-in-public-office-commission-sipo","34":"tag-top-stories","35":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116502504771560868","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}