The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe TD, and Minister of State for Public Procurement, Open Government and eGovernment, Patrick O’Donovan TD, today (25th February) published the Second Statutory Review of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015.
The Act provides transparency on "who is lobbying whom about what".
The Act was commenced on the 1st of September 2015. From that date, there has been a requirement for those who lobby designated public officials (DPOs) to register and report on their lobbying activities every four months on the Register of Lobbying. The Act requires that the Minister must undertake a consultation process as part of any review, to include the Commission; persons carrying on lobbying, and bodies representing them; and any other persons, as appropriate. The Minister is required to make a report of the review to both Houses of the Oireachtas.
The public consultation received 27 submissions from different sectors of society including academics, representatives of business and farming communities, interest groups, government departments and public affairs organisations. These submissions have been published and can be viewed at https://www.gov.ie/en/consultation/652934-second-review-of-the-regulation-of-lobbying-act-2015/
The submissions received are broadly supportive of the legislation and recognise that it provides a means for the public to gain an awareness of the decisions and actions of public servants and the communications that may impact on these outcomes. The submissions do however show that there is a demand for further guidance around certain procedural, interpretation and implementation matters relating both to the Act and to the Register. The review includes a number of recommended further actions, most of which relate to this demand for further guidance, for example:
• The Commission may wish to consider whether further guidance is required regarding the definition of lobbying in the Act.
• The Commission should consider highlighting the facility for people who have registered, but are not actively lobbying to deregister from the Register.
• Where necessary, the Commission should consider providing guidance in relation to aspects of the code of conduct.
The suggestions made, and topics raised in the submissions have been carefully considered. It has been concluded that where issues raised have not already been dealt with, they can be addressed administratively without requirement for legislative change. In this context the review does not recommend that any amendment be made to the Act at this stage.
Compliance with the Register continues to build with more than 40,000 returns available for viewing on the Register at www.lobbying.ie and just over 1,950 organisations and individuals registered as lobbyists.
Minister Donohoe stated:
I am encouraged that the Act is well regarded internationally and that it compares favourably with legislation in other jurisdictions, and meets many of the principles perceived as best practice. Transparency is a key element of this legislation, particularly in terms of making information available to the public regarding those lobbying on public policy matters. The success of this lobbying regulatory system and the high levels of compliance with it, are evidence of the success of this initiative.
Minister of State O'Donovan added:
I welcome the publication of this second review of the Regulation of Lobbying Act and the opportunity it has given to take stock of its impact, to see how it is working in practice and to see what issues and challenges it presents. I am pleased that the Act has influenced similar legislation in other countries and is seen internationally as a “gold standard” for regulation of lobbying legislation. I welcome the general positivity surrounding the Act and its implementation. As the Minister outlined, the key element of this Act is the transparency that is now being brought to bear regarding lobbying activity in Ireland.
Both Ministers conveyed their thanks and appreciation to those who took the time to make submissions to the public consultation process. They also wished to acknowledge the work of the Standards in Public Office Commission in administering and regulating lobbying activity.