NEW LOBBYING RULES set to come into effect from tomorrow which could see those who breach the one-year “cooling off period” fined €25,000, and banned from lobbying for two years. 

These rules are enforced by the Standards in Public Office Commission Office (SIPO). 

The rules will apply to former Ministers, Ministers of State, special advisers and public servants who are called Designated Public Officials (DPOs).

Under the Regulation of Lobbying Act (2015), anyone who communicates with a public official or politician – called designated public officials, or DPOs – about laws, policies and practices, or seeks to have them changed, must register as a lobbyist and file returns three times a year.

These returns are then listed on the publicly accessible Register of Lobbying. On these, ex-government officials who engage in lobbying, must declare that they are former DPOs as well as the most recent public position they held.

Former DPOs are subject to a mandatory one-year cooling-off period after leaving their government roles unless they seek an exemption from Sipo.

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Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe said that the new rules will “further strengthen Ireland’s lobbying laws”. 

He added that lobbying is an “essential part of the democratic process.”

“It is essential, however, that this activity is transparent and open to public scrutiny. The public need to be able to monitor the potential influence that interest groups and representative bodies have on public policy issues and decisions,” Donohoe added.