The first "cooling-off" waiver under lobbying legislation has been granted to a former senior adviser to Fine Gael governments.

Ciaran Conlon was a special adviser to Richard Bruton in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Employment between February 2011 and earlier this year. He had previously been Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny's director of communications when the party was in opposition.

The Regulation of Lobbying Act provides for a one-year “cooling-off” period when senior public officials leave office. This is designed to avoid situations where former officials immediately begin lobbying for the private sector in their previous area of work in the public service.

Mr Conlon has joined communications company MKC as a partner and, as such, requested a waiver from post-employment restrictions. MKC is registered on the Register of lobbying.

Request approved

Mr Conlon’s request for a waiver was approved subject to a number of conditions.

He is restricted from involvement in relevant communications with his former department until May 2017.

The restriction includes communication with Mr Bruton, now the Minister for Education, and special advisers with whom he worked who moved with Mr Bruton to his new department.

There is also a restriction on communication in his new capacity with current Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal Damien English.

Mr Conlon was also director of strategy for Fine Gael prior to the 2011 general election and was responsible for the party’s “five point plan” campaign.