Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 13 October 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

General Scheme of the Regulation of Lobbying (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion

Photo of Mairead FarrellMairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Thank you. That is very interesting. In his opening statement, Professor Murphy stated:

Moreover, it also brings into question the situation whereby people receive privileges by virtue of their former public employment, whether as TD or adviser, such as an access pass. There seems to be no adequate or even plausible reason as to why this remains the case and the question should surely be asked as to whether such privileges should be relinquished for at least the duration of an individual’s lobbying career.

That is quite interesting. As we know, many decisions can be made and lobbying can be done in the corridors, and one person or group might have access to those corridors while another group needs to be signed in by a Deputy. Perhaps Professor Murphy could tease that out a little more.

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