Irish government confirms lobbyist legislation

By Alex Veeneman on June 19, 2012


The Irish Taoiseach, or Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, with President Obama at The White House in 2011. Kenny’s government is introducing a law in Ireland requiring a full disclosure of lobbyist contacts between the lobbyist, members of the government and members of the country’s parliament.
(Photo courtesy of the federal government)

The Irish government has confirmed its intentions to move forward with legislation requiring lobbyists in the country to disclose their contacts with members of the government and members of Parliament.

A spokeswoman for the Irish government told Uloop the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is currently working on legislation on the subject and referred to the Department for further comment on the matter. A spokeswoman for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform told Uloop the legislation was due to be ready early next year. The spokeswoman said a policy paper on lobbying and the proposals was due to be released in a couple of weeks, at which point there would be a seminar on the subject. It has been indicated that Ireland is interested in learning from the model adopted in Canada, which is internationally known when it comes to addressing the issues of lobbyists.

The spokeswoman added then a head of bill, or a summary of the proposal that the government is planning, will be filed in the country’s Parliament (or Oireachtas) in the autumn. After that the legislation would be considered in the early part of next year.

The primary goal at this stage as the proposals are prepared to be made public is the definition of a lobbyist and to what extent it should be measured and how connections should be evaluated. After that point, it would be determined the extent of reveal and the effect the laws are to have on the country, and debate would begin.

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