Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I am not sure what that lengthy reply means. In 1991 the Competition Authority was established, in 1993 the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2001, the Commission for Aviation Regulation and in 2002, ComReg. In 1989 the Health and Safety Authority was set up and in 2001, the Health Insurance Authority. In that year, also, we had the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, ODCE, and in 2004 the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority, IAASA. The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, IFSRA, was established in 2003 and the National Taxi Regulator in 2004.

That is a complete set of small empires that have an important duty to perform. I understand that. Will the Taoiseach not agree that there is a case for a single really powerful regulator, which could benefit from economies of scale as well as the pooling of knowledge and expertise and which employs a more focused degree of accountability to all of these areas that must surely benefit consumers in every stratum of society? In its report, the OECD identified two specific areas, telecoms and energy, as being of particular concern. Does the Taoiseach agree that progress in both areas has been dismal and that, as a consequence, the nation is losing in so far as regulation is concerned?

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