Pearse Doherty
Ceist:190. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the lobbying engagements his predecessor had since August 2015 and he has had since June 2017 by sector and industry. [32866/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 23 July 2019
Ceisteanna (190, 191)
Pearse Doherty
Ceist:191. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the lobbying engagements his predecessor had since August 2015 and he has had since June 2017 by purpose of meeting, that is, budgetary matters or use of public funds. [32867/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 190 and 191 together.
The Deputy will be aware that the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 provides for a register of lobbying to make information available to the public on the identity of those communicating with ‘Designated Public Officials’ on policy, legislative matters, or prospective decisions.
Under the Regulation of Lobbying Act, all relevant communications with Designated Public Officials (DPOs), including the Minister for Finance, must be reported to the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) by the individual or entity undertaking an activity that they consider to be lobbying. The responsibility for reporting is solely with the lobbyist.
The lobbying register is maintained by SIPO and is available at www.lobbying.ie. The register is searchable under a variety of headings including by the name of the lobbyist, the DPO who was lobbied, and by the public policy area in which the lobbying relates to, for example by taxation, banking and financial institutions, and budgetary matters.
I can advise the Deputy that based on the information contained lobbying register there were 515 instances of lobbying reported with my predecessor Deputy Noonan in his role as Minister for Finance from 1 September 2015, which is the first date of lobbying returns, until June 2017. I can also advise the Deputy that there are 641 instances of lobbying listed under my role as Minster for Finance from June 2017 up until the latest reporting period of 30 April 2019.
The Deputy may wish to note that my official monthly diary, which includes listings of scheduled meetings, is published on the Government of Ireland website at https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/1cc374-minister-paschal-donohoe-tds-diary/