Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 9, inclusive, together.

Considerable progress has been achieved since the publication in 2001 of the OECD report on regulatory reform in Ireland. Many of the OECD recommendations related to specific sectoral issues and appropriate Ministers with responsibility for those sectors report progress to the House.

A key recommendation of the OECD report was the development of a national policy on better regulation. As Deputies will be aware this recommendation was acted upon with the publication in January last year of the Government White Paper, Regulating Better. The White Paper sets out six core principles of better regulation and a detailed action plan to translate these principles into how we design, implement and review legislation and regulations. Accordingly, the White Paper contains the thrust of the Government's efforts on regulatory reform rather than the original OECD reports. Key actions include the introduction of regulatory impact analysis, RIA, currently being piloted; improvements to our approach to sectoral regulation; greater clarity and accessibility of regulation especially by means of Statute Law revision and a renewed drive on red tape.

The OECD report made long-term strategic recommendations that do not particularly lend themselves to fixed timetables. However, the White Paper gave a number of time-bound commitments on a range of actions. Four specific actions include the establishment of the better regulation group, the development of consultation guidelines, the piloting of regulatory impact analysis and the updating of the Statute Book.

A better regulation group comprised of senior officials was established to oversee implementation of the White Paper and promote better quality regulation across the public service. To date, the group has met four times and has focused on a number of better regulation issues, including aspects of the enterprise strategy group's report relating to regulatory reform and a proposal to map the regulatory framework in Ireland. The group has also held initial discussions with representatives of both IBEC and ICTU and will engage in regular dialogue with these and other organisations as necessary on better regulation issues.

A central commitment in the White Paper was the development of guidelines to promote better quality public consultation. A sub-group of the better regulation group was formed in 2004 to oversee the development of these guidelines which are intended to act as a practical resource for Departments, public bodies and any other organisations that consult stakeholders. They are also designed to help those interested in participating and responding to consultations. The guidelines are close to completion and are expected to be published shortly.

In addition to these developments, my Department established a steering group to oversee the piloting of regulatory impact analysis, RIA, in Departments. Five Departments and offices are piloting RIA and are represented on the steering group which is chaired by my Department and also includes a representative from the committee for public management research. Based on the experience of piloting RIA, the group will make recommendations to Government on the most appropriate form of RIA for the Irish context. The piloting process is close to completion and it is hoped the final report will be published in the next two to three months.

RIA is a tool which contributes to the quality of regulation by ensuring regulatory proposals are subject to robust analysis prior to being brought to Government. It involves formal consultation in advance of regulation, better quantification of impacts, including costs, structured consideration of alternatives and greater focus on compliance and enforcement. RIA ensures the social and economic implications of regulations are considered as well as the burdens on small and medium enterprises. By incorporating the consideration of a wide range of impacts, it helps to ensure regulations strike the right balance between the need to protect the interests of the citizen and consumer and meeting the needs of business.

My Department has also made substantial progress, working in conjunction with the statute law revision unit in the Office of the Attorney General, to progress the commitments in the White Paper in respect of statute law revision. The Attorney General and I initiated a review of all legislation that predates the foundation of the State and Deputies will recall that in April 2004, I announced a public consultation process on the repeal of more than 100 Acts. The Statute Law Revision (Pre-1922) Bill 2004 was subsequently published in November 2004. The Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, is sponsoring this important legislation which passed through Second Stage in the Seanad on 13 April. The Bill will repeal almost 100 Acts that are spent or no longer of any practical use. A further round of consultation is under way and may lead to the inclusion of additional Acts before the Bill completes its passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas. This is an important first step in delivering on our commitment. The next stage is the identification of the pre-1922 Acts which are still in force and the development of a strategy to repeal and re-enact these in a modern, consolidated form.

Better regulation remains a significant and important component of the public service modernisation agenda and considerable progress has been achieved in implementing the White Paper, Regulating Better, and the recommendations of the OECD report on regulatory reform.

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