Monday 1 July 2024: Today the Standards in Public Office Commission published its Annual Report of Regulation of Lobbying activity under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. The report covers the Commission’s activities in administering the Act for the 2023 reporting year, including enforcement activities undertaken during the year.

The total number of registrants on the register increased to 2,538, a net increase of 108 on the 2,430 registrants at the end of 2022. At the time of completing this report, more than 12,000 returns of lobbying activities had been submitted in respect of the three reporting periods in 2023.

Two investigations were carried over from 2022 to 2023, and two further investigations were launched during the year. The Complaints and Investigations Unit closed one of these cases, leaving 3 ongoing at year end 2023.

One case for prosecution (under Section 20(2) of the Act) carried over from 2022 was due before the courts for failure to submit lobbying returns. The lobbyist in question subsequently came into compliance during the year, and the Commission withdrew the prosecution.

The Commission also reported that it received three applications to waive or reduce the Act's post-employment provisions in 2023, all from former special advisers. Statistics on applications received since the Act’s commencement are included in the report.

For more information and to read the Commission's full report on the Regulation of Lobbying in 2023, please visit the website www.lobbying.ie.

For further information, please contact:

Media:            media@sipo.ie

Email:             info@lobbying.ie
Website:         www.lobbying.ie
Twitter:           @LobbyingIE

Background:

On 1 September 2015, the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 commenced, and with it, the requirement for those who lobby designated public officials to register and report on their lobbying activities every four months. The enforcement provisions of the Act commenced subsequently, on 1 January 2017. Information submitted to the Register is available for public inspection at www.lobbying.ie. The website, which includes the online register, also has a suite of information tools designed to help lobbyists, designated public officials and the public to fully understand the Act and its obligations.

The Standards in Public Office Commission was created in 2001, and oversees legislation governing ethics in public office, electoral finance, expenditure of State funding, and the regulation of lobbying.