THE PROGRESSIVE Democrats’ archive is to be donated to University College Dublin, it emerged last night.
A party spokesman also confirmed that the national executive had signed off on audited accounts for 2008, which will be sent to the Standards in Public Office Commission next week.
The winding up of the party had been scheduled to take place at the end of last month but was postponed for legal reasons associated with deregistration and the submission of final accounts.
A PD spokesman said the party would return surplus State funding it received. He said another set of accounts relating to finances from January 1st of this year must be given to the commission.
The choice of UCD as the destination for the archive was understood to have followed a consultation process with the party’s four founding members: former leaders Desmond O’Malley, Mary Harney and Michael McDowell, and accountant Paul McKay.
The University of Limerick and the National Library had also expressed an interest in acquiring the material collected over 22 years.
UCD holds the archives of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, as well as the individual papers of Éamon de Valera, Garret FitzGerald, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, Richard Mulcahy and Seán MacEntee.
The national executive also decided that Tony Williams should be co-opted on to Dublin City Council. On April 6th, he will take the PD seat originally won by Wendy Hederman.
Ms Hederman announced she was leaving politics in July 2007, citing family and work commitments. She was replaced by John Kenny, who also stepped down.
Last night’s gathering will not be the final meeting.
