Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That is the truth. The notion that I would have a legal obligation to report and register all of that does not make sense. I should probably not say this, but people come up to me at receptions abroad to talk to me about a million things after what could have been my eighth meeting of the day. That would be a burden which I would not be keen on taking on, and I would not be keen to place it on a range of colleagues.

For those reasons, it is not practical to do what the Deputy suggested. It would change the essential architecture of the Bill. The Bill proposes that if one intends to lobby a public official, one better register and make it known, as opposed to anybody who happens it be a public official, including a local councillor, a member of the European Parliament who would be abroad for much of the time, a member of the Government or a designated official having to register such contact. We do not want people to find themselves in breach of the Bill if they spoke to somebody. A person might not even recall that.

People would have to go around with a notepad and to ask anyone who approached to first register before speaking to them. This would make normal business impracticable.