Minister Donohoe announces extension of the lobbying register to include more official bodies
-
From: Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
- Published on: 9 September 2024
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
Following extensive engagements with all Government Departments, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, has signed the Statutory Instrument to extend the lobbying register.
The Programme for Government committed to an extension of the lobbying register to include the lobbying of senior officials in bodies like the Central Bank of Ireland, Comreg, the National Transport Authority and the Health Service Executive. These officials have significant policy making or development functions and any lobbying that takes place will now be reported on the same basis as central and local government.
Commenting on the implementation of the measure Minister Donohoe said:
“I welcome the implementation of this programme for Government commitment which will make the workings of Government more transparent. Transparency is an essential part of promoting trust in Government.
Lobbying is a key part of the democratic process. It plays an important role in policy formation. However, it needs to be open to public scrutiny. The people of Ireland should be able to monitor the potential influence that interest groups and representative bodies have on public policy issues and decisions.
Since its introduction in 2015, the register of lobbying has provided a free, publicly available, searchable register showing the activity of lobbyists. By further strengthening our lobbying regime, and expanding the register, we ensure it continues to deliver on the objectives set for it. This measure will expand the range of officials who are covered by the legislation and this means that more information will be available to the public.”
The Statutory Instrument will commence on 1 January 2025. From that date, senior officials within the public bodies covered, with significant policy making or development roles, will be required to advise lobbyists that they are Designated Public Officials (DPOs). Any interactions with DPOs must be reported by lobbyists in accordance with the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015.
The 2015 Act also provides that, in certain circumstances, public servants who are prescribed as DPOs, are restricted from engaging in lobbying, for a year after they leave their employment or office. In effect, they are subject to a cooling-off period in respect of their involvement in particular lobbying activities.
The Standards in Public Office Commission, which administers the 2015 Act, has issued guidance for DPOs which can be viewed at here.
ENDS
Additional Information
The Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 (the 2015 Act) was commenced on 1 September 2015. From that date, there has been a requirement for those who lobby DPOs to register and report on their lobbying activities every four months on the Register of Lobbying (the Register). The part of the 2015 Act that provides for investigation and enforcement provisions was commenced on 1 January 2017.
The Register, which is a web-based system, can be viewed at https://www.lobbying.ie/ and is overseen by the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO). There are currently 2,643 organisations and individuals who have registered on the Register, and over 91,000 returns have been submitted and are available for viewing. [1]
There is no fee to register as a lobbyist and members of the public can view and search the Register free of charge. The website, as well as including the online Register, also has a suite of information tools designed to help lobbyists, DPOs and the public to fully understand the 2015 Act and its obligations.
The purpose of the 2015 Act is to provide appropriate transparency on who is lobbying whom about what. In this context, the 2015 Act is designed to provide information to the public about:
• Who is lobbying;
• On whose behalf lobbying is being carried out;
• The issues involved in the lobbying;
• The intended result of the lobbying; and
• Who is being lobbied?
The 2015 Act aims to do this by providing for:
• The establishment and maintenance of a publicly accessible Register of Lobbying;
• SIPO to be the regulator of lobbying;
• Obligations on lobbyists to register and to provide information regularly about their lobbying activities, including, in the case of professional lobbyists, information about their clients;
• A code of conduct on the carrying-on of lobbying activities; and
• The introduction of a ‘cooling-off’ period during which lobbying activity may not be carried out by some former public officials.
Section 22 of the 2015 Act provides that certain DPOs are restricted from engaging in lobbying in certain circumstances for a year after they leave their employment or office unless they get permission from SIPO – in effect, they are subject to a cooling-off period. The DPOs concerned are Ministers and Ministers of State, special advisers and prescribed public servants. The 2015 Act refers to these persons as “relevant DPOs”.
The 2015 Act was amended by the Regulation of Lobbying and Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Amendment) 2023 Act. This, inter alia, made failure to comply with the cooling-off provisions of section 22 of the 2015 Act a ‘relevant contravention’ under the 2015 Act. A system of civil and administrative sanctions, to be operated by SIPO, has been introduced in this regard. This system involves minor or major sanctions. The sanctions include: a caution or reprimand, a monetary penalty of up to €25,000 and a prohibition from lobbying of up to 2 years.
The 2015 Act and related statutory instruments can be viewed at
https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2015/act/5/enacted/en/html
The amending 2023 Act can be viewed at
https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2023/act/15/enacted/en/print.html
[1] Figures correct at 19 July 2024
ENDS