One of the prime causes of the building and banking crash that inflicted such harm was the cosy, inter-linked relationship between government and those powerful sectors. Professional lobbying, political weakness and personal contacts combined to create conditions for unsustainable growth and, following the EU/IMF bailout, the incoming government decided to do something about it. That involved the introduction of a Lobbying Bill, under which individuals or organisations that made representations to ministers, politicians or public servants had to sign a register and supply details of their activities.

The Lobbying Act was passed in 2015 but some of its provisions have not yet been activated. The Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) was given responsibility for creating a register of lobbyists and for ensuring details of their activities were published on its website. But it still lacks the authority to investigate and to prosecute cases where legislation is ignored or to levy fines for breaches. That is unacceptable and practically encourages avoidance of civic responsibility.

The reach of the lobbying industry and the extent to which politicians and public servants are subjected to representations on all manner of issues, is reflected in this first annual report. Commenting on the fact that more than 1,000 lobbyists had registered and submitted 2,500 returns, SIPO concluded this was a positive indication of acceptance of the need for openness and transparency. Old secretive habits die hard, however, and the report also acknowledged there were some areas where “confusion” over the requirements of the Act persisted.

Financial institutions were among those “confused”. Earlier this year, a meeting on variable mortgage rates involving the Minister for Finance was properly reported by some banks but not by others, with Bank of Ireland and TSB insisting the meeting hadn’t involved lobbying while Allied Irish Bank claimed exemption because of State ownership. The sooner SIPO is allowed to investigate such cases the better.