4.    Consultation

The Commission considered that circulating a draft code of conduct, based on the above principles and reflecting what it considered to be the best elements of the other codes it had considered, would allow for a more meaningful and focused consultation process.  A consultation paper and a draft Code of Conduct was prepared and a call for submissions on the draft Code of Conduct was published in the national newspapers (Times, Independent and Examiner) on Saturday 7 July 2018.  The consultation paper, draft Code and call for submissions were also published on the Commission’s website, the Regulation of Lobbying website and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform website in early July.

The consultation paper and draft Code together with a covering letter was circulated to key stakeholders.  It was also circulated to a number of Regulators of Lobbying in other jurisdictions for their views.  The call for submissions together with links to the consultation paper and draft Code issued to each registered lobbyist through the lobbying.ie messaging system.The deadline for receipt of submissions was 31 July 2018.

A total of 40 responses were received.  Three of these provided no comments or suggestions on either the Code of Conduct or Regulation of Lobbying.  Comments and suggestions have been received from Government Departments and public bodies; from other regulatory bodies; from representative bodies and advocacy bodies; and from other organisations and individuals.  A summary of the submissions received and the Commission’s response is set out below.  A list of the persons who provided comments or suggestions on either the Code of Conduct or Regulation of Lobbying is provided at Appendix A to this report.  A revised Code of Conduct taking into account some of the comments and suggestions received has been approved by the Commission and is being published today.

The submissions made to the Commission are not regarded as a lobbying activity as the submissions were not made to a Designated Public Official.