Overwatch Report

Comhlámh

January–April

[Community] Comhlámh sent an email highlighting the need to improve diversity and representation within the Oireachtas and encouraged support for a candidate in the Seanad elections with expertise in intercultural education, diversity, and anti-racism.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Micheál Martin', 'role': 'Taoiseach (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'}

Comhlámh

January–April

[Foreign Affairs] Email was sent querying government plans to adopt the IHRA definition on antisemitism and to request progress on the Occupied Territories Bill.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Micheál Martin', 'role': 'Taoiseach (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Simon Harris', 'role': 'Tánaiste and Minister (Department of Foreign Affairs)'}

Comhlámh

January–April

[Justice and Equality] Letter (sent as email attachment) congratulating Minister on his appointment, and expressing concerns regarding violence and deaths at EU borders, international protection applicants subjected to homelessness, implementation of Catherine Day report, and difficulties in navigating process of applying for international protection

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': "Jim O'Callaghan", 'role': 'Minister (Department of Justice)'}

Comhlámh

May–August

[Justice and Equality] Comhlámh's member group, Ireland Says Welcome sent an email to raise awareness of issues of violence and deaths at EU borders; supports for asylum seekers to navigate system of applying for international protection; asylum seekers being forced to live on streets and go through IP application system in this situation; moving of responsibility for accommodation for asylum seekers being moved back to Dept of Justice.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': "Jim O'Callaghan", 'role': 'Minister (Department of Justice)'} {'name': 'Colm Brophy', 'role': 'Minister of State (Department of Justice)'}

Afri

May–August

[Justice and Equality] Afri and Comhlámh launched a public campaign ahead of the September Hague Group deadline. We asked civil society organisations to sign a joint open letter, share the campaign with #HagueGroupNow, and encourage staff to act. We asked individuals to sign a petition and use the Uplift tool to email their TDs urging Ireland to join the Hague Group and adopt its measures. No direct contact with DPOs took place in this period.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Email All TDs', 'role': 'Yes. Afri and Comhlámh managed a campaign using an Uplift email-sending tool, which enabled members of the public to email their TDs individually, calling on the Government to join the Hague Group and adopt its measures. We also used email newsletters and social media to mobilise the public, though no bulk messages were sent directly by Afri/Comhlámh to Designated Public Officials.'}

Comhlámh

September–December

[Foreign Affairs] Letter (sent as an email to An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin)

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Micheál Martin', 'role': 'An Taoiseach (Department of the Taoiseach)'}

Comhlámh

September–December

[Justice and Equality] Comhlámh's member group, Ireland Says Welcome, sent a letter to raise concerns about proposals that Minister O'Callaghan was bringing to cabinet that day to 1. Require people in IPAS accommodation who have jobs to pay 10-40% of their income as a contribution to the cost of their accommodation, 2. Restrict the possibility of naturalisation in the future for people who have received certain social welfare payments, and 3. To make family reunification less accessible for reco

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': "Jim O'Callaghan", 'role': 'Minister (Department of Justice)'} {'name': 'Colm Brophy', 'role': 'Minister of State (Department of Justice)'}

Comhlámh

January–April

[Justice and Equality] Comhlámh together with their member group 'Ireland Says Welcome' ask the government to provide adequate housing and protection for IPAs

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': "Roderic O'Gorman", 'role': 'Minister (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth)'} {'name': 'Helen McEntee', 'role': 'Minister (Department of Justice and Equality)'} {'name': 'Lynn Ruane', 'role': 'Senator (Seanad)'} {'name': 'Eileen Flynn', 'role': 'Senator (Seanad)'} {'name': 'Richard Boyd Barrett', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Alice-Mary Higgins', 'role': 'Senator (Seanad)'} + 7 more

Comhlámh

January–April

[Foreign Affairs] Joint Letter to An Taoiseach on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Leo Varadkar', 'role': 'Taoiseach (Department of the Taoiseach)'}

Comhlámh

January–April

[Foreign Affairs] Comhlámh requested the government to support South Africa at the ICJ and to break trade with Israel

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Micheál Martin', 'role': 'Taoiseach (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'}

Comhlámh

January–April

[Community] Comhlámh added their signature to a letter led by the Hope & Courage Collective asking the government to counter the emergence of far right narratives

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Leo Varadkar', 'role': 'Taoiseach (Department of the Taoiseach)'}

Comhlámh

January–April

[Health] Comhlámh's Access to Medicines requested that Ireland support a change to the Compulsory license provisions in the draft pharmaceutical legislation to ensure they are fit for purpose

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Peter Burke', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'}

Comhlámh

January–April

[Foreign Affairs] Comhlámh's Justice for Palestine member groups asked representatives to vote in support for South African case at the ICJ

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Josepha Madigan', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Catherine Martin', 'role': 'Minister (Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media)'} {'name': 'Cormac Devlin', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'}

Comhlámh

January–April

[Foreign Affairs] Comhlámh's Justice for Palestine member groups asks TDs for their support in the South African at the ICJ

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Aengus Ó Snodaigh', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Aindrias Moynihan', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Alan Dillon', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Alan Farrell', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Alan Kelly', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Anne Rabbitte', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} + 155 more

Comhlámh

May–August

[Foreign Affairs] Comhlámh's Ireland Says Welcome group sent a letter to An Taoiseach regarding the politicisation of international protection and Ireland's legal responsibilities to those seeking international protection here.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Simon Harris', 'role': 'An Taoiseach (Department of the Taoiseach)'}

Comhlámh

May–August

[Education and Training] Comhlámh's End Orphanage Volunteering Working Group sent a letter to Minister Norma Foley and to education spokespeople to request a meeting to discuss the development of child-safe guidelines for overseas school trips, including guidance not to visit or volunteer in orphanages.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Gary Gannon', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Sorca Clarke', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Norma Foley', 'role': 'Minister (Department of Education)'}

Comhlámh

May–August

[Foreign Affairs] Comhlámh's End Orphanage Volunteering Working Group emailed members of the Houses of the Oireachtas requesting support with organising a meeting in Leinster House between parliamentarians and a representative of the OSCE.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Alice-Mary Higgins', 'role': 'Senator (Seanad)'} {'name': 'Martin Browne', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Richard Boyd Barrett', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Ivana Bacik', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'}

Comhlámh

September–December

[Justice and Equality] Comhlámh emailed relevant ministers to request reforms to the direct provision system, aligning with the government's commitment to replace it with a more humane and community-focused model.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': "Roderic O'Gorman", 'role': 'Minister (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth)'} {'name': 'Helen McEntee', 'role': 'Minister (Department of Justice)'}

Comhlámh

September–December

[Foreign Affairs] Comhlámh met with Sorca Clarke TD to discuss the development of child-safe guidelines for overseas school trips, including guidance not to visit or volunteer in orphanages.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Sorca Clarke', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'}

Comhlámh

September–December

[Foreign Affairs] Comhlám's Justice for Palestine group emailed TDs requesting support for the Occupied Territories Bill

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Paul Murphy', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Simon Harris', 'role': 'An Taoiseach (Department of the Taoiseach)'}

Comhlámh

September–December

[Foreign Affairs] Comhlámh's Justice for Palestine group emailed a TD requesting that they support UNRWA

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Cormac Devlin', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'}

Comhlámh

September–December

[Energy and Natural Resources] The Comhlámh Trade Justice Group emailed Minister Eamon Ryan concerning Irish withdrawal from the EU Energy Charter Treaty.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Eamon Ryan', 'role': 'Minister (Department of Environment, Climate and Communications)'}

Comhlámh

January–April

[Foreign Affairs] Appeal to Department of Foreign Affairs to end volunteering in orphanages

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Alice-Mary Higgins', 'role': 'Senator (Seanad)'} {'name': 'Lynn Ruane', 'role': 'Senator (Seanad)'} {'name': 'Fintan Warfield', 'role': 'Senator (Seanad)'} {'name': 'Aisling Dolan', 'role': 'Senator (Seanad)'} {'name': 'Johnny Mythen', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} {'name': 'Martin Browne', 'role': 'TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)'} + 11 more

Comhlámh

January–April

[EU Affairs] The Comhlamh Trade Justice Group were calling on the Taoiseach to support a withdrawal of Ireland from the Energy Charter Treaty.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Leo Varadkar', 'role': 'Taoiseach (Department of the Taoiseach)'}

Comhlámh

May–August

[Justice and Equality] "Comhlámh's 'Ireland Says Welcome' member group sent an appeal to Minister McEntee to raise their concerns at the highest level of the European Union (EU) regarding the treatment of migrants entering the EU and those trying to enter the EU."

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Helen McEntee', 'role': 'Minister (Department of Justice)'}

Comhlámh

May–August

[Housing] "Ireland Says Welcome - a Member Group of Comhlámh, appeal to Minister O’Gorman to address disparities in access to housing and social supports for marginalised groups, that are leading to a degradation in social cohesion."

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': "Roderic O'Gorman", 'role': 'Minister (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth)'}

Comhlámh

May–August

[Health] Access to Medicines, a Comhlámh member group, sent a request to oppose the introduction of transferable exclusivity vouchers in the revision of the EU pharmaceutical legislation

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Barry Andrews', 'role': 'MEP (European Parliament)'} {'name': 'Billy Kelleher', 'role': 'MEP (European Parliament)'} {'name': 'Brian Hayes', 'role': 'MEP (European Parliament)'} {'name': 'Chris MacManus', 'role': 'MEP (European Parliament)'} {'name': 'Ciarán Cuffe', 'role': 'MEP (European Parliament)'} {'name': 'Clare Daly', 'role': 'MEP (European Parliament)'} + 8 more

Comhlámh

September–December

[Foreign Affairs] Comhlámh, Access to Medicines, the Justice for Palestine Group together with other organisations wrote to An Taoiseach to increase diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Leo Varadkar', 'role': 'Taoiseach (Department of the Taoiseach)'}

Comhlámh

September–December

[Foreign Affairs] The Comhlámh Justice for Palestine group wrote a letter in support of human rights workers and Palestinians in the South Hebron Hilla

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Micheál Martin', 'role': 'Tánaiste and Minister (Department of Foreign Affairs)'}

Comhlámh

September–December

[Energy and Natural Resources] The Comhlámh Trade Justice group wrote to Minister Eamon Ryan to urge the government to exit from the Energy Charter Treaty on a unilateral basis, in light of the current impasse on progress towards a coordinated withdrawal of EU member states.

Public Officials Lobbied

{'name': 'Eamon Ryan', 'role': 'Minister (Department of Environment, Climate and Communications)'}

Lobbying Tracker

Most Lobbied TDs