Posted by Elaine Byrne

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform hosted a conference on lobbying in Farmleigh recently. These presentations were made available today.

• Regulation of lobbying policy proposals.
• The presentation by Lynn Morrison, Integrity Commissioner & Lobbyists Registrar of Ontario.
• The presentation by Áine Stapleton, Department of Public Expenditure & Reform.
• Minister Brendan Howlin’s opinion piece in the Irish Times on lobbying.

Concerns from the conference centred on –

• The definition of lobbying (chapter four of the policy proposals)
• The confidentiality of legal advice in the context of lobbying
• European Union voluntary register v mandatory register
• The potential administrative burden on organisations
• Tax implications for charities
• Issues around the ‘cooling off period’.