Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On the issue of requiring financial disclosures as part of the registration system, the consultation process that we have had, which was quite exhaustive, highlighted the need to strike a balance between transparency, which is the objective of the Bill, ensuring confidentiality of commercially sensitive information and safeguarding the right to privacy. Account also needs to be taken of significant administrative issues in establishing consistent and comparable financial data which could usefully be included in any register. This is particularly the case in respect of in-house lobbyists where in some instances only a small portion of their time is engaged in lobbying communication and where such financial data could not be collected. The disclosure of financial data also presupposes that financial disclosures can give us some insight into the effectiveness of lobbying communication. Ministers and public officials would argue there is no direct link between the amount spent on lobbying and the degree to which it is successful. I do not accept the amendment.

See this speech in context