Target Audience
Staff, CEOs, chairpersons and board members of non-profit organisations who deal with public representatives or officials. It will also help volunteer-led organisations with no paid staff to check whether the Act applies to them and when it might.
Outline
Most charities and non-profits lobby far more than they realise. A quick email to a TD about funding, a chat with a councillor at an event or a social media post tagging a Minister can all count. This practical session explains what the Act covers, how to tell whether your organisation needs to register, and how to meet your reporting obligations with confidence. It also looks at the board's role in overseeing compliance, and it puts across the view that lobbying is a legitimate and valuable part of democratic life.
Content
- What the Act covers and why it matters
- The three-step test: does your organisation need to register?
- Registering and making returns on lobbying.ie
- Exemptions and the grey areas, including informal chats and social media
- Charities and lobbying
- The 2023 changes: new sanctions and the cooling-off period
- The board's role in making sure the organisation complies
Methodology
Delivered virtually via Zoom.
Instructor
Jillian van Turnhout
The workshop is led by Jillian van Turnhout who is a former independent Senator who, in her five years, was successful and recognised by both TV3 and the Irish Times as ‘Senator of the Year’. In addition, Jillian is a former Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance and, in this role, spent seven years successfully advocating for policy and legislative change. Before her time in the Seanad, Jillian worked and volunteered on many successful campaigns. Since her time in the Seanad, Jillian has successfully influenced legislative changes in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly.
Jillian's governance expertise emanates from over twenty-five years serving and chairing Boards and reporting to Boards as a CEO. Jillian is a Chartered Director (IoD UK) and certified in international corporate governance through the INSEAD International Directors Programme and an Institute of Directors Certificate in Company Direction with distinctions in governance, strategy and leadership.
She is a former Chief Executive of the Children's Rights Alliance; former Vice Chair (Director) of European Movement Ireland; former Chief Commissioner of the Irish Girl Guides; and former President of the National Youth Council of Ireland.
Jillian has been awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite by the President of France and an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.
Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
- Apply the three-step test to work out whether their organisation is lobbying
- Register and file accurate returns on time
- Spot everyday activities that may count as lobbying
- Understand the risks and penalties of getting it wrong
- Put simple processes in place so the board can be confident the organisation complies
Carmichael’s Spring Summer 2027 Scheduled Training Programme is kindly sponsored by BoardEffect.
BoardEffect is part of Diligent, the leader in modern governance. BoardEffect delivers an agile board management solution optimised for governance leaders of nonprofits, higher education institutions, community healthcare organisations, and credit unions with the right tools, analytics, and insights to drive more efficient, transparent, and secure governance.
Fees
| €80 | Nonprofit Organisation |
| €70 | Carmichael Resident Organisation |
| €90 | Statutory Organisation |
| €90 | Corporate Organisation |