Tip O’Neill famously said that all politics is local. In a country like ours, it’s not just politics that is local – it’s everything. Everywhere I go from Beijing to Bundoran, I seem to meet someone from Wexford!
And while the Lobbying Legislation I published on Friday won’t affect the normal interaction between citizens and their TD or Councillor, it will allow for the establishment of a web based register of lobbying activity and deliver appropriate transparency on “who is contacting whom about what”.
Perhaps unsurprisingly lobbying has become a bit of a dirty word in recent years, being linked as it has been with bribery and corruption. In truth though, vibrant communication and public debate, close interaction and engagement between government and citizens are central to a well-functioning democracy.
Lobbying helps to ensure that all perspectives, assessments and opinions are presented and available to inform decision-making in key areas of public policy and legislative proposals.
It is my hope that this is another step in the process of helping to rebuild public trust in the political system by throwing light on its interaction with those who seek to shape and influence policy across all sections of society.
I want to strengthen the degree of openness and scope for public scrutiny of the interactions and engagements between all sectors of society and our political and administrative systems.
This will allow the wider public to reach informed evidence-based judgments about the extent to which different interest groups are accessing key decision makers across the political and public service systems and would be expected to increase the public understanding of lobbying activity in Ireland.
The Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014 is part of the wider political reform to provide for transparency and openness and is complementary to other transparency arrangements already in place including arrangements for accountability to the Oireachtas, the Freedom of Information and the Ethics and Standards in Public Office legislation. These existing arrangements put the onus on office holders and on the public service to meet certain transparency objectives and to assist the public in understanding the policy making process and in ensuring that ethical standards are being met. The Lobbying Register will provide the required further transparency on the activities of those engaged in lobbying.
A period of preparation will be required prior to commencement to enable development of the web-based register and the preparation of an information and education campaign by SIPO.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Brendan Howlin TD, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform