Funding of the Referendum Commission
The Commission was allocated a budget of €4.2 million for the information campaign. This compared with a budget of €5 million for the first Lisbon Treaty campaign. The decision of the Commission not to send an addressed booklet to each voter (an unaddressed guide was delivered to each house instead) combined with the economic conditions which resulted in more competitive pricing, meant that the Commission was able to conduct an effective campaign and still return €1.1 million of its funding to the Department of Foreign Affairs. A breakdown of the expenditure incurred in the referendum campaign is given in the appendix to this report.
An audit of the accounts of the Referendum Commission confirmed that proper financial procedures were followed. The audit identified no weaknesses in the Commission’s systems of control and confirmed that proper books of account were kept. Procedures for procurement were also found to be in accordance with Department of Finance Public Procurement guidelines.
The secretariat to the Referendum Commission was provided by the Office of the Ombudsman and the Standards in Public Office Commission. These staff costs were borne by the Office of the Ombudsman and were not covered by the €4.2 million budget for the information campaign. Members of the Referendum Commission do not receive any payment for Commission work.
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