Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 213: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of regulators under the control of his Department; the function and responsibility of same; the number of staff employed, their out-turn for 2008 and budget for 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6499/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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In line with the definition of a "regulatory body" set out in the report — Bodies in Ireland with Regulatory Powers — published by the Department of the Taoiseach in February 2007, information in respect of the regulators related to my Department is set out below.

Regulatory functions arising from my Department's mandate are also carried out by local authorities, and staffing numbers associated with the discharge of these functions are included in local authority overall staffing numbers. The costs of discharging regulatory functions by local authorities are provided for in the local authority annual revenue budgets. These totalled just over €5 billion in 2008 and are projected to total in the region of €5 billion in 2009.

In relation to the four regulatory bodies under the aegis of my Department, the table below sets out the regulatory role, staffing numbers, and 2008 funding provided by my Department to each body. These bodies are also funded in part from own resources income such as fees and, in the case of the Environmental Protection Agency, from the Environment Fund. Funding from my Department for 2009 will be finalised in the coming weeks in the context of finalisation of the 2009 estimates.