Ireland’s lobbying legislation now extends to lobbying members of the CCPC

Ireland has a statutory regime dealing with the lobbying of certain designated public officials (DPOs).  

The regime is primarily contained in the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015.

The regime does not outlaw lobbying but rather it regulates the practice and ensures that the public is aware of who is lobbying whom on what issues and when by way of a public register – see www.lobbying.ie.

On 1 January 2025, the Irish lobbying regime was amended such that the Chairperson of, and the members of, Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) became DPOs for the purposes of Irish lobbying legislation. The responsibility is on the persons who do the lobbying to disclose the lobbying under the statutory regime.

This change is pursuant to the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 (Designated Public Officials) Regulations 2024. 

The lobbying of other persons in the CCPC would (currently) fall outside the scope of the lobbying regime.  Equally, the lobbying of the relevant Government department (i.e. the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment) may involve lobbying dependent on whether a DPO in that department is lobbied.

The change in the law will mean that any lobbying of the most senior people in the CCPC will be the subject of compulsory publication on www.lobbying.ie. The change is part of the natural evolution of the lobbying regime in Ireland where it has always been expected that the number and nature of DPOs would be expanded over time.

For more information on EU and national competition dawn raids and inspections, please contact Dr Vincent Power, Partner or any member of A&L Goodbody's EU, Competition & Procurement team.

Date published: 24 January 2025