Sinn Fein has once again received the highest amount in donations to our political parties, according to the latest figures from the Electoral Commission.
The party received £144,888 in donations and public funds in the last quarter.
In addition to donations from benefactors, parties receive money through the House of Commons, the Assembly and the Electoral Commission.
Donations over £11,180 must be reported to the commission, or smaller donations from the same source that together meet the threshold.
Political parties registered here received a total of £412,853 from July to September, compared to £594,067 over the same period last year.
Sinn Fein’s total was made up of £52,398 in donations and £92,490 in public money.
The DUP brought in £92,317 in public funds and received no donations, while the SDLP received £17,500 in donations and £62,369 in public money, making a total of £79,869.
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Donations that the SDLP received in the last quarter were all from the same source, Irish entrepreneur Tony Kilduff, whose company owns several solar farms in Northern Ireland.
The Alliance Party brought in £58,659 in the last quarter – £16,500 in donations and £42,159 in public funds.
The Ulster Unionists received £22,221 – all in public money. The TUV also reported only receiving public funds – £4,513 in the last quarter.
Cahir Hughes, head of the Electoral Commission in Northern Ireland, said: “Just under half a million pounds of donations were accepted by political parties in Northern Ireland in three months.
“We know that voters are interested in where parties get their money from, and this publication is an important part of delivering this transparency for voters.
“However, we’ve seen for some time that public confidence in the transparency of party and campaigner finance is declining.
“We continue to recommend to the UK Government that it introduces laws to help protect parties from those who seek to evade the law and give voters more confidence in the process by requiring more checks on the identity of donors.”