From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
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The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, today (12 April 2019) launched the public consultation process for the second review of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. The closing date for receipt of submissions is 5pm on Friday, 10 May 2019. Late submissions cannot be accepted.
Commenting on the consultation, Minister Donohoe said:
I am pleased to invite submissions from interested parties as part of my department’s second review of the operation of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. Given the success of this innovative system, and the high levels of compliance, I am heartened that the work undertaken by both my department and [external-link https://www.sipo.ie/en/ | Standards in Public Office Commission ] (SIPOC) in building awareness and understanding of the Regulation of Lobbying Act has been successful.
Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan stated:
The launch today of this public consultation process as part of the second review of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015, reaffirms this government's commitment to the principle that transparency and accountability are vital to maintain the trust of citizens in the legitimacy of the political, administrative and legislative processes.
A paper setting out the background to and details about this review, including where to send your submission, can be found on the consultation page.
Please check the Consultation Privacy Notice for particular information on the use of personal data that this department will collect as part of this process.
The national register of lobbying activities is overseen by the Standards in Public Office Commission. As well as the online register, the website www.lobbying.ie also has a suite of information tools designed to help lobbyists, designated public officials and the public to fully understand the Act and its obligations.
The purpose of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 is to deliver appropriate transparency on ‘who is contacting whom about what’, and this was achieved by the establishment of a web-based register of lobbying activity.
Under Section 2 of the Act, the second review of the operation of the Act should commence by 1 September 2019 and be finalised by end February 2020. The Act requires that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform must undertake a consultation process to include the Standards in Public Office Commission, Oireachtas Committees, persons carrying on lobbying and bodies representing them and any other persons as appropriate. The report of the review should cover the findings, conclusions drawn from these findings and any recommendations for amendments to the legislation consequent on these findings. Reviews are required every 3 years.