Regulation of Lobbying and Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Amendment) Act 2023

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Amendment of section 5 of Principal Act

4. Section 5 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (c):

“(c) makes, or manages or directs the making of, any relevant communications about the development or zoning of land under the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2021.”,

(b) in subsection (2), by—

(i) in paragraph (b), the substitution of “the members,” for “the members, or”,

(ii) in paragraph (c), the substitution of “those issues,” for “those issues.”, and

(iii) the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (c):

“(d) the person has no full-time employees and is a body which exists primarily to represent the interests of its members where one or more of the members of the body would fall within the scope of one of paragraphs (a) to (c) if such member or members were to carry on lobbying activities outside of the body and the relevant communications are made on behalf of any of the members, or

(e) the person has no full-time employees and is a body which exists primarily to take up particular issues where one or more of the members of the body would fall within the scope of one of paragraphs (a) to (c) if such member or members were to carry on lobbying activities outside of the body and the relevant communications are made in the furtherance of any of those issues.”,

(c) in subsection (3), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) where it is made by a person who holds, in the body, any office the functions of which relate to the affairs of the body as a whole,”,

(d) in subsection (5), by—

(i) in paragraph (a), the substitution of “Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2021” for “Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2014”,

(ii) in paragraph (o), the substitution of “subsection (8);” for “subsection (8).”, and

(iii) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (o):

“(p) communications by a political party to its members who are designated public officials and which are made exclusively in their capacity as members of the political party concerned.”,

and

(e) in subsection (9), by the insertion of the following definition:

“‘political party’ means a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties in accordance with section 25 of the Electoral Act 1992 ;”.