From FreeNow to the IFA: Who is lobbying Waterford’s politicians?
Under Irish law, every three months political lobbyists and interest groups are legally required to reveal which representatives they have been contacting to sway their voting intentions. Graphic by Hugh Dooley
Under Irish law, every three months political lobbyists and interest groups are legally required to reveal which representatives they have been contacting to sway their voting intentions. Among the thousands of lobbying submissions made under The Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 by every deadline, several hundred relate to organisations that have reached out to Waterford-based public representatives.
More than 250 submissions have been made since September regarding lobbying efforts towards politicians in Waterford.
The most frequent lobbyists in Waterford are The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), who have made contact with Waterford City and County Council officials 141 times since the start of September.
The IFA frequently contacted Councillor Joeanne Bailey of Waterford City and County Council, as well as Ireland South MEPs Cynthia Ní Mhurchú and Kathleen Funchion, as part of large-scale email lobbying campaigns.
The impressive rate at which the IFA have contacted political representatives is matched by the variety of the issues they raised in their lobbying efforts.
Unsurprisingly, farming policy is the most common topic raised by the Irish Farmers’ Association. One lobbying campaign regarding a proposed ‘Forgotten farmer’ scheme by the IFA in conjunction with Macra – the young farmers association – was ultimately successful.
The campaign, run by IFA President Francie Gorman, alongside other IFA executives, saw the implementation of a €5 million fund for farmers who lost out on farming supports due to the government’s austerity policies following the 2008 recession.
Not all lobbying carried out is on a national level. The IFA also called on Waterford City and County Council to implement “remedial action” to deal with ragwort.
“Ragwort is classified as a noxious weed under the Noxious Weeds Act, 1936, due to the serious threats it poses to livestock and the environment,” the IFA said in their submission to the public authority and enquired as to the local council’s plans to remedy the growing presence of the weed.
Among the 141 submissions by the IFA are contained a series of more surprising lobbying efforts. The “Fair Deal & Support for Older People” was the topic of another lobbying campaign by the farmers’ body, as were efforts to convince General Election candidates Conor McGuinness and Mary Roche to include efforts to improve the responsiveness of An Garda Síochána in rural areas and to establish a “national dedicated multi-agency Rural Crime Task Force”.
Dungarvan and West Waterford Chamber are the second most active lobbying force for the Déise’s representatives. Their numerous lobbying efforts varied in focus, from contacting the council to request a freeze to commercial rates in 2025, to contacting southern MEPs on “Ireland’s place in the global economy” - the business interest group were busy.
Waterford Chamber of Commerce were just as busy, calling repeatedly on government and Oireachtas representatives to take action on Waterford Airport. The Chamber revealed in their lobbying submissions that they requested that Minister of State James Lawless “visit Waterford and its airport and consult with stakeholders before making further comments on the issue”, while calling for a decision to be made on the airport’s funding. Carlow and Wexford’s Chambers of Commerce also echoed these calls on the Department of Transport and Eamon Ryan for speedy action.
Waterford TDs Mary Butler and John Cummins both received information from Waterford Intellectual Disability Association regarding the pay rates for healthcare workers employed by section 39 bodies – non-government organisations providing healthcare services through funding from the Health Service Executive.
FREE NOW, representing Ireland’s taxi trade, was another organisation to get in touch with General Election candidates and government formation teams. The taxi company contacted various Waterford representatives with a list of key recommendations to protect and strengthen the sector. With concerns over industry sustainability and driver conditions, the company - alongside driver unions and dispatch operators - urged policymakers to include taxi industry protections in the next Programme for Government.
Liquid Gas Ireland shared its own manifesto ideas “highlighting [their] policy priorities to support a 'Just Transition' in the decarbonisation of Ireland's off natural gas grid, and asking for these policies to be supported during the campaign”.
Waterford and South Tipperary Community Youth Service contacted Waterford’s sitting TDs and representatives for Tipperary ahead of the General Election to push for an increase in funding to the youth sector of 8%.
The board of the service requested that these TDs advocate for increased funding for the sector with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Roderic O’Gorman. Between 20 and 30 emails were also sent by staff of the service to public representatives, in addition to the formal communication.
Development representatives of Regnum Renewables Development Ltd met with one of the councillors for the Comeragh area of Waterford City and County, Councillor John O'Leary, regarding a planning application in Lahardan for a significant battery storage facility they hoped to construct. Over the summer, representatives of the company met with the councillor and local residents, who had raised concerns regarding the proposed development.
In their lobbying submission published in September, the company said they organised the meeting “to understand and discuss the concerns that were being raised by locals and to discuss mitigation measures”. In addition to a series of phone calls and emails, the two parties met at the Viking Hotel on July 19 to discuss concerns raised over construction traffic and the condition of the roads.
