David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Minister to consider this amendment further. I am sure Senator Byrne is not precious about the wording and I am sure he would accept something that the Minister had dollied up. For example, the Minister could add in the phrase "in the course of official business," which would exempt holidays and all the rest. In fact, registration is not a very serious burden. It is just registering the fact that a person has been lobbied. It does not contain the content of the lobbying. That is a reasonably simple thing to do. Taking into account what the Minister has said, there could be some form of words to show that it was a designated official who was involved. Cut out all this stuff about casual conversations around the swimming pool of a hotel in Santa Ponsa. I have never been, but I gather it is an awful place.