Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 12:

In page 18, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following:

"8.—(1) Within 6 months of the commencement of this Act, the Minister shall commission the publication of a regulatory impact assessment of the impact which this Act is having on business.

(2) When conducting a regulatory impact assessment under subsection (1), particular regard shall be paid to the impacts which this Act has on small businesses."

This amendment relates to a regulatory impact assessment. Some time ago the Government published a White Paper entitled, Regulating Better, which advocated the use of regulatory impact assessments. I am sure the Minister of State will have no difficulty in accepting this amendment as it forms part of the policy of the Department of the Taoiseach. The cost implications of the Bill's provisions cause some concerns for employers. The burden imposed by legislation of this kind particularly on small businesses is of some concern to me. While the aims of the Bill are laudable, we need to strike a balance between these aims and the cost of implementation. My amendment would require a regulatory impact assessment six months after the commencement of the Act to ascertain whether any expensive costs are unwittingly imposed without having the desired effect of improving health and safety. If the Government is to heed its own advice in these matters I am sure the Minister of State will consider this sympathetically.

I do not take much comfort from the correspondence I received from the Minister of State on the matter, in which he assured me that he is committed to having a competitiveness study undertaken. He could do so on a statutory basis if he is committed to some kind of assessment.

See this speech in context