Royal Dublin Society (RDS)

Lobbying Organisation Royal Dublin Society

Date published 20 May, 2020

Relevant Matter Public policy or programme

Public Policy Area Tourism

Period 1 Jan, 2020 to 30 Apr, 2020

Specific Details The Royal Dublin Society as part of a Venue Operators and Promoters Forum issued four letters on 30 March 2020: (a) seeking guidance on the Governments strategy on the events sector and in particular the hosting of large events in the future in light of the Covid-19 pandemic (b) making their venues available to the State during the Covid-19 emergency and offering any assistance whatsoever to the State

Intended results (a) Clarification on guidance on mass gatherings (b) Large venues are being made available to the State during the Covid-19 emergency and any assistance whatsoever is offered to the State.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Michael Duffy

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Letter (2-5)

Four letters were issued on 30 March 2020 by a Venue Operators and Promoters Forum to the Secretary General (Department of An Taoiseach), the Secretary General (DPER), the Secretary General (Department of Health) and the CEO of the HSE.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Robert Watt Secretary General (Department of Public Expenditure and Reform)

Jim Breslin Secretary General (Department of Health)

Martin Fraser Secretary General (Department of the Taoiseach)