Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Mairéad Farrell and Doherty for bringing the Bill forward. The purpose of the Bill is to update current legislation on lobbying so that our citizens can have confidence that the political system is there to serve them and not itself. As things stand, the current legislation allows for a rather loose reading of lobbying laws which allows rules to be open to interpretation and for a revolving door between Government and big businesses to turn constantly. This is why Sinn Féin is attempting to amend the legislation, given the relationship between high finance, big business and the political establishment over the years.

The influence involved is apparent in the unwillingness of successive Governments to take on the banks or the insurance industry. I want to outline the impact of this on the people in my county. There is a severe housing crisis in Tipperary, where more than 3,600 people are on the housing waiting list. People find themselves in a range of challenging situations and are unable to get a home of their own, a local authority house or, in many cases, private accommodation. This is happening at a time when I became aware that a house was sold by a bank to a vulture fund for €40,000. Private citizens have no hope or chance of getting a deal like that. That is why people who have been approved for the housing assistance payment but cannot find a house or flat to rent contact my office daily.

This is a prime example of how vulture funds have been given permission to run amok. They snap up properties for next to nothing and sell them at inflated prices to those who can afford them, leaving those on meagre incomes to remain on housing waiting lists for years. These funds have created this situation because policies have enabled them to do so, and we wonder why we have a housing crisis.

For too long, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have allowed the use of a revolving door between politics and the lobbying industry. The optics of this are not good enough, as we have seen with certain departures from the world of politics to lobbying industries, such as Brian Hayes and Michael D'Arcy. We propose that if senior political insiders want to leave the world of policy formation to join the lobbying sector they will have to wait for a longer period of time to do so.

If we tighten up the rules, the impression that ministerial office can be used to advance self-interest may be dealt with. We hear all the time that politicians are only in it for themselves. This is a concern we seek to address. SIPO has called for legislative changes since 2016 to broaden the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. During that time, Governments have effectively resisted these changes and instead opted to instead water them down to reviews. That is what the Government wants to do again.

If Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael published a dictionary and one looked up the word "review", one would find it to find as a term similar to delay, postpone or shelve. The Taoiseach is attempting to do that now. Sinn Féin's amendments seek to bring into effect a number of recommendations made by SIPO. It will increase the cooling-off period which is the length of time that Ministers, Ministers of State, special advisers and high-ranking civil servants must wait before moving from public office to the lobbying sector. It would also get rid of a grey area in the current Act regarding the code of conduct for persons carrying out lobbying activities.

The original Act specifies that a person must have regard to the code rather than adhering to it. We are addressing that. The undue influence of lobbyists has resulted in an unaccountable insurance sector and a housing crisis that has been made possible by a hands-off approach towards the banks, insurance industry and vulture funds. When it comes to political lobbying in this country there has been a serious lack of accountability. We seek to address that. I appeal to all parties and Independent Deputies to support the Bill and make our system work for the people rather than the well-connected or well-heeled.

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