Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 19 May 2022

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

General Scheme of the Regulation of Lobbying (Amendment) Bill 2022: Discussion

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I will come to that because I have views on it. The first point relates to clarity as to where the restrictions are and are not applicable. As Deputy Doherty just said, we, as public representatives, tend in the course of our business to be obliged to meet people representing a point of view on their own behalf or that of others. It is difficult to determine whether such a meeting is a breach of the lobbying Act or not. Do we have to consult the register to find out whether any of the people presenting are lobbyists or not? Could that interchange become a crime? How do we protect ourselves and the public right to access public representatives?