The campaign group lobbying against the proposed Government smoking ban will have to declare its funding sources, according to the State's ethics watchdog.
The Standards in Public Office Commission confirmed yesterday that the Irish Hospitality Industry Association (IHIA) comes under ethics legislation, and will have to declare donations of €127 or more.
A spokesman for the commission also told The Irish Times that the IHIA would not be able to accept any donations in excess of €6,350.
Under the legislation the IHIA is also required to register with the commission if it has received more than 127 from a single funding source, establish a special account, and declare all such donations to the commission.
A spokesman for the IHIA said the lobby group would be "complying absolutely" with any ethics legislation.
The IHIA has yet to register with the commission, and the commission is now expected to write to the group making it aware of the requirements under the ethics legislation.
Electoral legislation was strengthened in 2001 through the Electoral Amendment Act to include individuals or groups or third parties involved in the political process, but not actually running for election.
The legislation affects all third parties who receive donations of 127 or more for "political purposes".
"Political purposes" has a very wide definition under the Act. It includes the support of "any campaign conducted with a view to promoting or procuring a particular outcome in relation to a policy or policies or functions of the Government or any public authority," according to commission guidelines.
The legislation sets a limit of 6,350 on individual donations.
While there is no spending limit for a lobbying campaign, the legislation does require lobby groups to specify the total amount raised for any specific political purpose.
The IHIA was established by various business people involved in pubs, hotels and restaurants earlier this summer specifically to campaign against the introduction of the Government's proposed smoking ban.
Yesterday Fine Gael called on the IHIA to make public "the source of all donations they have received to date".
"Our information is they haven't registered yet. It's hard to believe they haven't received donations of 127 or more, so they should make the list of donors public.
"There is no limit on what they can spend, and the least they can do is make the source of their funding public."
A spokesman for the IHIA said the group was "more than happy" to provide the commission with its donor information, but expected lobby groups on the other side to do the same.
"We are currently in the process of registering with the commission," he said.
"We are also expecting that all organisations campaigning on this issue, on both sides of the debate, will at the minimum seek a briefing from the Public Offices Commission on the requirements of the ethics legislation."
The registration of groups involved in the campaign on tobacco legislation is the first time ethics legislation is being applied to campaigns outside of elections and referenda.
The legislation on third party interests, which has been in force since January 1st, 2003, has only been applied on three occasions. These were the referenda on Nice and abortion last year, and during the 2002 general election.