Mr. John Devitt:

I can only speculate that reforms were not seen by the Department as necessary and that there was not any great political demand or momentum for reform. Many of the reforms are also technical in nature. Generally, policy like this is driven by a crisis or controversy. If we look back at the history of reform in Ireland from the 1990s, many of the most meaningful reforms came on foot of public controversies, tribunals of inquiry and the collapse of our financial system in 2008, which led to a raft of reforms, including the Protected Disclosures Act, the Regulation of Lobbying Act and reform of the Freedom of Information Act.

This Act should not be seen as a silver bullet or a panacea. It is not the one means by which we should or can open up government or policymaking to greater scrutiny. It is unfortunate that the Public Sector Standards Bill which was sitting on the Order Paper for almost three years stalled and then fell following the last general election. That would have been an opportunity to address some of the concerns and risks that this Bill will address. I would recommend, for example, a broader cooling-off period for designated public officials moving into the private sector and not just entering the lobbying profession where that appointment either poses a material or perceived conflict of interest and requires a designated public official to seek guidance and permission from the Standards in Public Office Commission before assuming a role which may pose a conflict of interest after retiring.

In much the same way these reforms should be seen as part of an ongoing process of reflection, review and reform of not just the Regulation of Lobbying Act but also of the Freedom of Information Act. It is important to see this in an holistic way aiming at making government more open and accountable. There is an opportunity to look at this in a strategic play with the forthcoming national plan for the Open Government Partnership. Ireland is expected to present a plan to the Open Government Partnership secretariat soon. This could be seen as one of a number of measures aimed at making the policymaking process more open.