Designated Public Officials of Kilkenny County Council

Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015

Each Elected Member of the Council, the Chief Executive and Members of Senior Management are designated Public Officials under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 which came into effect on 1 September 2015. It provides that certain people who are carrying on lobbying activities must register with the Standards in Public Office Commission and must provide information about their lobbying activities.

The purpose of the Register is to make information available to the public on the identity of those communicating with designated public officials on specific policy, legislative matters or prospective decisions. Such persons will have to register and will be required to submit returns of their lobbying activities three times a year.

The Register of Lobbying will be maintained by the Standards in Public Office Commission and will be publicly accessible at www.lobbying.ie

The Register of Lobbying will include information about:

• Who is lobbying
• On whose behalf is lobbying being carried out
• The issues involved in the lobbying
• What is the intended result of the lobbying
• Who is being lobbied

Designated Public Officials:

Section 6(1) of the Act provides for persons regarded as "Designated Public Officials" for the purposes of the Act.

The person being lobbied is a designated public official.

They include:

• Ministers and Ministers of State
• TDs and Senators
• MEPs for constituencies in this State
• Members of local authorities
• Special Advisers
• Secretaries General and Assistant Secretaries in the Civil Service
• Chief Executive Officers and Directors of Services in Local Authorities
• External Members appointed to Strategic Policy Committees and Local Community & Development Committees.

Guidelines for Designated Public Officials

The designated public officials of Kilkenny County Council are the Elected Members (Councillors), Kilkenny County Council's Senior Management Team (Chief Executive and Directors of Services) and External Members appointed to Strategic Policy Committees and the Local Community & Development Committee.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has prepared and published a code known as the Transparency Code which sets out how certain relevant public bodies, such as Ministerial Advisory Groups, may conduct their activities in a transparent way. By adhering to the Transparency Code, communications within these bodies would meet the exemption from the requirement to register and report on lobbying activities.

(a) Elected Members contact details are available at the following link.

(b) Chief Executive & Directors of Services contact details are available at the following link.

(c) External Members appointed to the following committees:

• SPC 1: Economic Development, Enterprise Support and Tourism, Planning & Development Policy link
• SPC 2: Transportation Policy/Mobility Management & Water Services link
• SPC 3: Housing link
• SPC 4: Environmental Protection, Climate Action & Energy link
• SPC5: Community, Cultural & Fire Services link
• LCDC: Local Community & Development Committee link
• JPC: Kilkenny County Joint Policing Committee link

Further Information:

More information on the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 can be found at www.lobbying.ie