Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
417. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number and name of the groups he met each month to date in 2018 that fall under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33715/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would like to draw the Deputy’s attention to the Register of Lobbying and its key objective which is to make information available to the public on the identity of those who are communicating with Government and senior civil and public servants on public policy matters. The Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 established a web based registration system of lobbying activity which will tell us “Who is lobbying whom about what?”.
As the Deputy is aware, Designated Public Officials are not subject to rules regarding the registration and reporting of lobbying. Their interactions when lobbied must be reported by the lobbyists in accordance with the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. Therefore, when a lobbyist communicates with one of the lobbied about a relevant matter, they must register on the lobbying register.
The register is publicly available on lobbying.ie. It is user friendly and easily searchable so all those who lobbied a particular Designated Public Official can be viewed on the lobbying register.
Finally, the Deputy may wish to note that my diary, which contains information on the groups and people I have met, is also available at https://www.per.gov.ie/en/ministers-diary/.
