Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach arís. This debate is very worthwhile. I remember as a UCD student sitting in the Public Gallery when the former Taoiseach, Mr. John Bruton, took office. In his speech he talked about Government being accountable to such a degree that it should be visible through a pane of glass. I fully agree that a democracy needs to be accountable. In the 1980s and the early 1990s there was regrettable behaviour by public officials which resulted in tribunals. Unfortunately it was a part of our past that we would much rather forget, but at the same time we have a responsibility to ensure it does not happen again. It is extremely important to learn from recent history. In recent years we have seen significant improvements in ethics in public office criteria, etc. However, unfortunately we have not seen that to the same degree in the area of lobbying. That is why I welcome the proposed Bill.

I will give a simple example. As a councillor in Clare when we were preparing the county development plan the lobbying that went on was appalling. In fairness to my colleagues across all parties in County Clare, it did not influence us. Lessons have been learned from experiences in north County Dublin and in other places. That said, it is not possible to rely on the probity of everybody and therefore an effective register of lobbying is extremely important. International best practice is scattered in the area. I would not consider that the United States has international best practice in the area. The degree of influence that lobbyists have in the United States is grossly obscene. It is also obscene that those seeking any kind of senior public position in the United States need to have multi-million dollar funds available. Of course all of this is channelled through big business which can exercise serious influence within the political system, where lobbyists are dangerous in my view.

I was here for Senator van Turnhout's earlier contribution and I commend her on her comments on the tobacco industry. We can take pride as the first country to have introduced a workplace smoking ban despite the highly-focused lobbying of the tobacco industry. Wearing my other hat, I run a shop in County Clare and have seen the lengths to which tobacco companies will go in order to push their products - that is the business they are in. All we can do as a Government and an Oireachtas is to regulate it and it is important to do so.

This debate is healthy as is any debate about transparency and accountability. Ensuring the best possible result for the public is important. I commend the people who have spoken in the debate. It is an important issue and those who spoke demonstrated its importance. As a society we can be relatively happy and proud that despite the lack of regulation in the area, it is not a big problem and certainly has not manifested itself as it has done in other countries. Prevention is better than cure and in order to prevent it becoming a problem, I support any endeavours to ensure this is addressed.