The Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) has made its submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s review of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015.

The PRCA has been a strong supporter of the Lobbying Act since it has come into force, providing guidelines on members on compliance with the legislation, and holding briefings on the issue. The first year of the Act has been largely positive, however there are issues that need to be considered based on that experience.
Those issues include:

• need for continued education of public servants and officials so that they can support compliance with the legislation;
• concern about the apparent low levels of compliance by other professional services;
• need for the Act to be amended so that it clearly applies to overseas lobbying activity;
• the removal of MEPs from the scope of the legislation, given that it is duplication of the European Transparency Register; and
• require Government Departments to regularly update the Designated Public Officials listings.

The full submission can be accessed here.