Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 66:

In page 12, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following:“(g) in the case of a lobbying activity by a person under section 5(1)(a), the overall amount spent on that lobbying action by the client, and in the case of a lobbying activity by a person under section 5(1)(b), an estimate of costs associated with that lobbying action,”.

The objective of the amendment is to introduce a provision regarding who pays whom how much to pitch what. It is the piece that is missing from the transparency of the legislation. Apart from the nature of, material and frequency of lobbying and its objectives and so forth, there is also the dimension of how much money passes from an entity to lobbyists in their bid to carry out their work. This is one of the missing pieces of the jigsaw in this legislation.
The amendment contains our proposed wording. I am not fixated on that formula and if there is a better way of stating what I am setting out to achieve, that is fine. One cannot have real and full transparency in respect of lobbying activities unless public light is shone on how much is paid to the lobbyist for the conduct of their business.