Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor Murphy for that. In fairness to Deputies Doherty and Mairéad Farrell, their Bill does not propose that unpaid advocacy work should fall within the definition of lobbying.

I will ask Mr. Devitt a question in respect of section 4 of the Bill. He has spoken about this briefly already. This section relates to the duties of designated public officials. One of the benefits of the legislation at present from the point of view of people such as Members of the Oireachtas and members of Government, who are designated public officials, is that it does not place an obligation on us. The nature of Irish politics is such that you meet people a lot. The advantage of the Act as it stands is that it is for the lobbyist to register their interests. Does Mr. Devitt have any concerns about what is contained within section 4 and the proposed new section 16A, which puts obligations on designated public officials and which makes it an offence for such officials not to carry out certain activities in certain circumstances?