Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I recently secured Government approval for the drafting, by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, of the Lobbying Regulation Bill. The general scheme of the Bill has been published on my Department's website.

The main aim of the proposed regulatory scheme is to strengthen public confidence in politics and in the business of government, as well as to increase the accountability of decision-makers by subjecting public policy-making, and those who seek to influence it, to greater openness and transparency.

The proposed Bill provides for a statutory web-based register of lobbying activity. The key features of the proposed regulatory system include the following: communication with designated public officials or office holders on specific policy, legislative matters or prospective decisions will be subject to registration. The focus of the lobbying register will be on the subject matter of the communication, the purpose of the lobbying, the organisations and person lobbied and the type and intensity of lobbying. It is intended that the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, will be responsible for managing the implementation of the register and for monitoring compliance. An important part of this function will be to provide guidance to registrants. The proposed Bill will also allow for the regulation of a "cooling-off" period for up to a year for former public officials seeking to lobby former colleagues they worked with in a public body. A more extended blanket prohibition on post-public employment is likely to conflict with a person's right to earn a livelihood. Normal citizen interaction with their local political representatives is a fundamental democratic right and will not be subject to registration other than when it relates to land rezoning and development issues in light of the recommendations of the Mahon tribunal.

Lobbying activity forms an important element of the democratic process. It contributes to greater openness and transparency on public policy formulation and provides valuable input to the decision-making process. The intention of this Bill is to continue to encourage such participation and engagement but to ensure that it occurs in an open and transparent manner.

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