Paul Murphy Raises Uber Lobbying and 'Corporate Capture' Concerns
Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach about alleged Uber lobbying and a possible case of corporate capture, citing John Moran's proposal to include sharing-economy language in a manifesto and subsequent lobbying meetings. He pressed for transparency over undeclared lobbying meetings and questioned whether corporate influence shaped policy.
Allegations over manifesto language
Paul Murphy pointed to a 7 January 2016 message from John Moran to Uber executives saying he had proposed to the Taoiseach's economic advisor that supportive language about the sharing economy be included in the Fine Gael manifesto. He noted that five weeks later the manifesto contained a reference to "new platforms, being developed that allow everyone to earn extra income in the sharing economy" and described the revelation as "quite incredible".
Unreported lobbying meetings
The deputy highlighted reports that lobbying meetings in 2015 and 2016 involving Uber with the Taoiseach, cabinet ministers and a senior civil servant were not declared in John Moran's returns to the lobbying register, while records of the lobbying appear in leaked Uber files. He used those reports to question the completeness of lobbying disclosures.
Government response and system robustness
In reply, the Taoiseach said the system proved robust and emphasised that lobbying does not guarantee policy change. He stated the NTA did not move and that the government of today did not take the decision to grant access to Uber, while acknowledging the principle that lobbying should be transparent and registered.
Planned changes to lobbying rules
The Taoiseach referred to the Minister for Public Expenditure bringing forward new legislation to update lobbying laws and the lobbying register. He also raised the issue of garden leave and the need for reasonable distance between senior public positions and subsequent lobbying roles, while noting competing rights on individual livelihoods.
Impact on policy and manifestos
Paul Murphy insisted the lobbying efforts aimed to transform the regulatory framework governing taxis but argued that those changes did not take effect. The Taoiseach maintained there was not a corporate capture of policy making or decision making, and said the system resisted the requests made by those doing the lobbying.
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Thanks. I also want to ask the Taoiseach about what seems to be an incredible case of corporate capture of politics, where you have a situation where on the 7th of January 2016, John Moran tells Uber executives that he'd made proposals to Taoiseach Enda Kenny's economic advisor to include supportive language about the sharing economy in the Fine Gael Manifesto, and just five weeks later, in the manifesto, a reference to, quote, new platforms, being developed that allow everyone to earn extra income in the sharing economy appears, and John Moran, able to say that to Uber, you'll recognise this text. It's quite incredible what has been revealed. These are your coalition partners, Taoiseach. It's also been reported that political lobbying meetings in 2015 and 2016 for Uber with Enda Kenny, with cabinet ministers, with a senior civil servant, were not declared in John Moran's returns to the lobbying register, even though records of the lobbying feature within leaked Uber files. Thank you, Deputy. What I would say is that the system is robust on this one, which is kind of important. People can lobby. It doesn't mean they get their way, or it doesn't mean policy changes. And the NTA did not move. The government of today didn't take the decision to grant access to Uber. And that is an important point. No, there should always be full transparency, in my view. And if people are lobbying, they should register the fact that they are lobbying. But I think that's an important point in relation to that issue. I think in terms, I think, sorry, the Minister for Public Expenditure is bringing in new legislation to update our lobbying laws, lobbying register, and in terms of garden leave and so on, there should be a reasonable distance between people being in very senior positions. And then going into a lobbying role immediately after holding such senior positions. And there's competing rights and so on in terms of the individual and right-term livelihood. It's not as simple. But transparency is a very important way of dealing with it. And, but the system did prove itself robust in resisting, or not at least acceding to the requests that were being made by those who were doing the lobbying. And I think that should be acknowledged as well. So there wasn't actually a carbon, or corporate, I think that we must be called a corporate capture of politics. There actually wasn't a corporate capture of politics in terms of the policy making side of it or decision making side of it in government. But they didn't get a chance to implement their manifesto. Well, look, in terms of manifestos and so on, I mean, I'm not talking about that specifically. I'm talking about the move to try and transform what would have been the framework governing taxis and so on. That didn't happen. That was sending all of the lobbying. And that's an important point. And that's an important point.
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