Balancing the freedom to criticise government policy with regulating lobbying: using Irish lobbying regulation as a model of balancing constitutional rights with lobbying transparency

The development of lobbying regulation in Ireland is often taken as a model of best practice internationally. The well-documented history of corruption in Ireland shows that developing regulations in this area would be a key part of an overall package of reform to increase transparency and ethics in politics. This piece will examine how the Irish legislation came into being, how it operates on a day-to-day basis, the legal and constitutional framework in which it operates, and the gaps that remain in creating a level playing field for all those that seek to communicate on matters of public interest and campaigning. This means that the article will not just be of value to legal scholars in the area but also to the wider disciplines while also developing policy lessons of value for other democracies who are attempting to balance the same issues. Therefore, there are many lessons to be learned from the Irish experience which are of value to other jurisdictions.