The Standards Commission (SIPO) pleaded with government not to be put in charge of proceedings where ex-ministers, special advisers or other public servants did not stick to rules around a “cooling off” period before becoming a paid lobbyist.
In correspondence with the Department of Public Expenditure, SIPO said plans to leave enforcement up to them instead of the courts were “completely unworkable.”
They warned that there was a “high litigation risk” and that offences related to cooling-off periods would be better dealt with through the court system.
The Department of Public Expenditure rejected this approach however, saying that dealing with it as a criminal matter could have a “chilling effect.”
Records show how SIPO told the government that plans for amended legislation on the regulation of lobbying were fraught with difficulty.
They said they were already struggling with a lack of resources and adding to their work would “heighten the risk of under-resourcing, and of error, in relation to [their] portfolio as a whole.”
SIPO also argued there was little reason to keep the process outside of the legal system as each case was likely to be appealed anyway.
An email from the Director General of their office Elaine Cassidy in March 2022 said: “Given the financial and reputational impact on the individual, one might anticipate an appeal to the Circuit Court on almost every occasion.
“This would result in the Commission engaging in a legal procedure, with processes and safeguards aimed at ensuring procedural fairness in order to be defensible, only to defend a full re-hearing of the same issue before the Circuit Court.”
Ms Cassidy said that while she hoped SIPO would be able to defend any appeal, some losses were “almost inevitable.”
“[This] would have both a reputational and financial impact on the Commission,” she wrote.
Asked about the records, which were only released following an FOI appeal to the Information Commissioner, SIPO said they had nothing further to add.
You can read the decision in the case at this link.