Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief because I want to get to my amendment, No. 4. I support Senator McDowell's amendment on funding from State sources and it is important that people know where their money is being spent. I am flagging that we might expand on this on Report Stage because I am concerned about a particular expert body. This goes back to when I was asking for clarification on section 4 and if someone is hired whether there is transparency around the members of expert bodies. There is an expert body that is constantly on the airwaves in this country commenting on energy policy. We do not know the make-up of the membership of the expert committees in that body and, equally, when asked about where their funding came from, they did not respond. They said it is subscription membership-based plus corporate donations. The amendment could go further to look at anybody setting themselves up as an expert advisory board that is lobbying Government and Government policy. They should be open and transparent about where their funding is coming from.