IMPACT lobbied politicians and public officials on behalf of its members on 14 occasions in the last quarter of 2016, bringing the annual total to 56. The figures, revealed in the union’s returns to the Lobbying Register, do not include industrial relations meetings as they are not subject to laws on reporting lobbying activity.

The Regulation of Lobbying Act, which became law in 2015, makes information on lobbying publically available. IMPACT’s latest lobbying returns cover the following issues:

• Composition of the Public Service Pay Commission 
• Restoration of funding to Foróige, and other organisations in the community and voluntary sector
• Request for parliamentary question (PQ) re Tusla state agency
• Discussion on Government's Action Plan on Jobs 
• Briefing on public service pay policy
• Access to State industrial relations services for people working in the civil service
• Recruitment issues affecting IMPACT members working as special education needs organisers (SENOs) 
• Opposition to temporary closure of Sligo County library and to potential permanent closure of one or more libraries in the county
• Opposition to staffless library proposals
• Pay restoration in the community and voluntary sector
• The Cassells report on higher education funding
• Community sector forum agreed under the terms of the Lansdowne Road agreement
• Secure rents campaign for the regulation of increases for private residential tenancies/improved security of tenure. 

New enforcement provisions under the Regulation of Lobbying Act came into effect on 1^st January this year. These provisions give the Standards in Public Office Commission the authority to investigate and prosecute contraventions of the Act and to levy fixed payment notices for late filing of lobbying returns.

IMPACT members who undertake lobbying activity are not required to make a return unless they are lobbying under instruction from the union, such as in the event of a ‘grassroots’ campaign. All lobbying activity undertaken by IMPACT staff is reportable, apart from activity classified as ‘excepted communications’.

For more details about the legislation and the register, visit lobbying.ie.

See also IMPACT trade union profile on Lobbying.ie.