Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the passage of the Bill through the Dáil. This important Bill has the potential to make Irish public life more transparent and accountable. The Bill encapsulates the new approach to the legislative process introduced by the Government. The legislative journey of the Registration of Lobbying Bill did not begin on its publication on Friday, 20 June this year. In 2012 the government reform unit of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform commenced reviews of the international approaches to regulate lobbying. This involved significant consultations. Then in April 2013 the Government approved the drafting of the Bill and the general scheme was published. This was, in turn, examined by the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, which held hearings on the Bill as part of the new pre-legislative scrutiny stage. All of this points to a desire for greater transparency and accountability. To be clear, I welcome the Bill and the aims and ideals contained within it.

However, the Bill gives rise to several issues. One is the role of a Deputy and the close proximity of a public representative in Ireland to the electorate. This proximity is one of the main positives of the proportional representation with a single transferable vote electoral system. The Bill will stipulate that a firm with more than ten employees must declare itself and register as a lobbyist even if its representative is only contacting the local Deputy about a problem such as an access road to a business premises. That is my interpretation of the Bill anyway and it is a matter of concern. Let us suppose someone from a business employing several people wants to go to the local council, Deputy or Minister to explain about a bad bend in the road preventing trucks from coming up or down. Is that lobbying? Must that firm register? It is an important matter for the firm but not a major issue of public interest. My reading of the Bill is that such activity would have to be declared.

Many companies and business people are private and have no wish to declare whether they have political allegiance. They may have no wish to say that they went to a local Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin or Labour Party councillor, Deputy or Minister. That is one of my concerns. Must a firm register this even if it is a big issue for the firm but not a major issue of public interest? It could be a safety issue or something that could improve the business, for example.

Another issue is the problematic definition of lobbying. Naturally, lobbying includes efforts to influence the policy process, legislative action or Government action. However, the term lobbying can be viewed through a far wider lens. Government policy is influenced by public opinion. Public opinion is influenced by myriad opinion pieces, newspapers, online news sites, television and radio. Almost all such action seeks to influence Government policy in some way. Therefore, is this activity not lobbying?

Another activity which could certainly be described as lobbying is philanthropy. There are many organisations in Ireland and abroad which attempt to shape or influence public and Government policy. The majority are dedicated and their bona fides could not be questioned. Whether I agree with the aims of the organisation is secondary. The wealthy individuals funding these groups and organisations are lobbying and trying to shape society in a way that they see fit and that is lobbying. However, only the organisation not the funders would have to declare and register under the Bill.

There are other areas of the Bill that I hope will be addressed as it continues along the legislative process, including grassroots lobbying. In other countries certain groups can be exempt. In some cases grassroots lobbying or lobbying by religious organisations is not considered lobbying for the purposes of making a return in the United States. The USA has a huge lobbying industry but it has exemptions for certain areas. A similar situation exists in the provinces in Australia, whatever about at federal level. Does every group or organisation that is part of a charity have to register every time a representative meets a Deputy?

The following circumstances are exempted: communications by or on behalf of an individual relating to his or her private affairs on any matter other than development or zoning under the Planning and Development Acts or relating to any land apart from the individual's private principal residence. Zoning has been an issue. We have a long and problematic history in this country in respect of zoning. When I was a councillor I would have been in favour of many zonings or supportive of a particular zoning without ever having met the party concerned. Subsequently I could have met an owner or engineer working on behalf of a landowner. That is fine and the contact must be registered under the Bill. However, what is the position if I subsequently support that zoning? Perhaps I was going to support it anyway because I believed it was right for a town or village. This need not be residential zoning; it could apply to industrial or enterprise zoning or other things.

Is the public perception suddenly that because I met an engineer or the landowner and I voted for the Bill I was bought off or that I voted in this way because I was lobbied? In many cases, Members voted in that way because they felt it was the right thing to do for their town or village and would have voted in that way in any case. I have a concern about that provision.

The second exemption relates to communications by or on behalf of an employer with not more than ten employees relating to the affairs of the employer in any matter other than the development or zoning of land under the Planning and Development Acts, 2000 to 2014, which is broad. Employers may want to construct an extension to a building and to meet to discuss a planning application. They do not want to show their allegiances or state they went to the local party representative. If they choose not to go down that line, do they then say they will not bother going through with the development? That is a concern. The exemption applies to companies with not more than ten employees. If somebody has 11 employees and wants to talk to his or her local representative about something, this has to be registered.

Relevant matters under section 5(7) are defined as any matters relating to "the initiation, development or modification of any public policy or of any public programme ... the award of any grant, loan or other financial support...". Is a sports group seeking to speak to a public representative about a sports capital grant covered by this provision? Is the local school board of management seeking to speak to a public representative about building a school extension covered by it? There remains a great deal to be teased out as the Bill goes through the House. I welcome its thrust, but there are many issues to be sorted out.

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