Public Affairs

Call for tougher penalties on lobbying rule breaches following Uber revelations

Newly-leaked documents have shown how the ride-sharing company assiduously courted politicians in a bid to ease national regulations

John Moran: the lobbyist told Uber executives in 2016 that he could drop a ‘separate note’ from the company to the then finance minister Michael Noonan’s house on a Sunday ‘without it forming part of the official’ departmental records. Picture: Oisin McHugh/True Media

Lobbyists are facing calls for tougher reporting and penalty regimes to be applied to them, in a bid to tighten rules around access to politicians and public officials following revelations of Uber’s activity in Ireland.

The Uber Files, published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) shows how the US ride-sharing company aggressively expanded into Europe with the help lobbyists who courted politicians in a bid to ease national regulations.

The files, first leaked ...