Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 and Designated Public Officials
Under S.I. No. 424/2024, Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform has designated An Rialálaí Agraibhia (Agri-Food Regulator) as one of 62 public bodies which contains positions which are now to be considered as Designated Public Officials (“DPO”) for the purposes of section 6(1)(f) of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 (No. 5 of 2015).
From January 1st 2025, the DPO positions classified within the Regulator’s office are those of the CEO and the Chairperson of the Board.
Under the Lobbying Amendment Act 2023, every public service body must inform relevant designated public officials of their obligations under the Act.
Objectives of the Act
The Act is designed to provide information to the public about:
- Who is lobbying;
- Who is being lobbied;
- On whose behalf the lobbying is being carried out;
- What are the issues involved in the lobbying;
- What is the intended result of the lobbying.
Under the Act, the Standards in Public Office Commission (the Commission) is designated as the regulator of lobbying and they have established a publicly accessible online Register of Lobbying which is available at www.lobbying.ie. Persons carrying out lobbying activities are required to register and to regularly provide information about their lobbying activities, including, in the case of professional lobbyists, information about their clients.
Requirement on lobbyists to make returns
Lobbyists are required to make returns to the Commission within 21 days of the end of each relevant period which is the four-month period ending on the last day of April, August and December each year. It is a contravention of the Act and an offence to fail to make a return of lobbying activities.
Openness in identifying a person as a Designated Public Official
The DPO should be proactive in advising possible lobbyists when attending a meeting, participating in a conference call, etc., of their designation as a DPO. This may be particularly useful in meetings where there are large numbers of officials present and the identity and grade of each official may not be known to those outside of the public service.
Other means of being proactive for a DPO would be to include a line in a business card and email signature stating:
“Designated Public Official under Regulation of Lobbying Act, 2015. See www.lobbying.ie.”
Good record keeping
Information contained in a return of lobbying activities is effectively a summary of relevant communications which have taken place between a person carrying on lobbying activities and a DPO. The information contained in a return may prompt further enquiries or Freedom of Information requests regarding the communications.
A DPO should, therefore, ensure that a proper record is maintained of all correspondence with a lobbyist on a particular matter. This might also include a record or account of casual or social encounters where the DPO considers a lobbying activity to have occurred.
Check the Accuracy of the Register
It is the responsibility of public officials to seek out and hear from a range of views on issues of public policy, and meeting with organisations or persons who may seek to lobby them on a matter is part of that process.
It is therefore recommended that a DPO should check the lobbying register on a periodic basis to ensure that the name of the DPO is associated with the correct lobbying activities and the information is factually correct. The DPO has a right to seek correction from the Commission where information published on the Register is inaccurate, out of date or misleading.
It is important to note that the fact that the name of the DPO appears on a lobbying return does not mean that the DPO agrees with the position of the person lobbying them. A person who undertakes lobbying activities may do so in various ways: through emails, phone calls, written submissions, meetings, etc. Some of these activities may be in the form of mass communications - others may be more targeted such as a meeting with a DPO.