Some of the most prominent groups campaigning for Repeal of the Eighth Amendment are dodging SIPO rules on foreign and domestic donations by claiming they are not engaged in political campaigning. The Standards in Public Office law requires any body which received a political donation of over €100 to register as a ‘third party’ and bans foreign donations outright. But, the head of ethics and lobbying regulation Sherry Perreault told the Sunday Business Post that it was sometimes difficult to say whether a donation to an organisation was intended for political activity. “This is a recommendation that the commission has made in every annual report for the last couple of years – to look again at what constitutes a third party. These are things for government to consider in due course,” she said. Yet, a Department of Housing spokesman said there were “no immediate plans” to make any such changes. The most prominent groups campaigning for repeal of the Eight Amendment are not registered with SIPO right now. Amnesty International, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and the Irish Family Planning Association have said they will register as third parties with SIPO if they decide to campaign in the forthcoming referendum while the Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment said it had commenced the required process to register as a third party. On the pro-life side, the most prominent groups, the Pro-Life Campaign, the Iona Institute and Family and Life are registered with SIPO, while some smaller groups such as the Second Look project and Yes to Life Ireland are not.