Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I move amendment No. 14:

In page 14, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following:

“Amendment of section 25 of Principal Act

21.Section 25 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (2)—

(i) in paragraph (d), by the substitution of “in that year,” for “in that year, and”,

(ii) in paragraph (e), by the substitution of “in that year,” for “in that year.”, and

(iii) by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (e):

“(f) any decisions made, or sanctions imposed, by the Commission under section 22A in that year,

(g) any appeals taken under section 22D in that year, and

(h) any applications for confirmation of a decision to impose a major sanction made under section 22E in that year.”,

and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(3) Any information referred to in paragraph (f), (g) or (h) of subsection (2) shall not be included in the report referred to in subsection (1)—

(a) in a case where a decision has been made to impose a major sanction—

(i) where an appeal has been brought, until the decision the subject of the appeal is confirmed by the Court under section 22D, or

(ii) where no appeal has been brought, until the decision is confirmed by the Court under section 22E,

and

(b) in a case where a decision has been made to impose a minor sanction—

(i) where an appeal has been brought, until the decision the subject of the appeal is confirmed by the Court under section 22D, or

(ii) where the period for bringing an appeal has expired and no appeal has been brought, until the expiry of that period.”.”.

I am proposing this amendment as significant changes are to be made principal Act with the introduction of the administrative sanctions regime for breach of relevant contraventions regarding failure to apply for a waiver of the cooling-off period under section 22, and the taking of any action by a person that has, as its intended purpose, the avoidance or circumvention of the person's obligations under sections 8 (1) or 12 (1) of the principal Act, the anti-avoidance clause.

Consequently, I have decided that it would be prudent to amend section 25 of the principal Act to provide that the SIPO's lobbying annual report must include any decisions on relevant contraventions and the imposition of administrative sanctions made in the year to which the report relates. I am of the view that it would also be beneficial to include provisions obliging SIPO to detail in its lobbying annual report information on any appeals taken, through section 22D, and confirmation applications made, through section 22E, to be inserted into the principal Act by this amending Bill.

Finally, I propose the insertion of the new text of section 25(3), as contained in this amendment, based on advice received from the Attorney General's office to ensure that any decisions, appeals, etc., are not reported on until the various relevant processes have reached their final possible outcome.