Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I will take the three questions from the Deputies together. A unit in my Department works with representatives of small business, IBEC and the trade unions. It has carried out a survey of 800 companies, including small companies. The PricewaterhouseCoopers Pulse Survey is also available. Worldwide, 73% of CEOs see regulation as the main potential barrier to growth. The figure in Ireland is 3% so we do not have an enormous problem with this. We try to identify the burdens and those put forward by industry include taxation and, increasingly, health and safety, which industry sees as imposing too many rules, regulations and plans. The latest Act addresses some of these concerns. The other areas are environmental law, to which Deputy Naughten was particularly referring, statistical returns and employment and company law. These are the five main areas, the others are small and insignificant. In each of those areas we are working with the industry sector and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, is examining how we can eliminate as much as we can without impinging on the core purpose of regulation. Much of it involves simplification and using technology in better ways.

When EU legislation is used to enhance matters, by cleaning water, improving the air or addressing issues of safety on roads, people are in favour of it. When EU legislation imposes an obligation on people, they are against it. One group of social partners wants EU law transposed because it improves security of work and the other group points out how it affects one of the five areas outlined. Progress is being made on these issues and if we follow the regulation line, follow reports on business attitudes to regulations and get stakeholders to work together we can get rid of much bureaucracy and forms, as has happened in the past few years. Many of the forms are not necessary and refer to old legislation even though the statutes stipulate what must be done.

The Davidson review examined the transposition of EU legislation and came from Eurosceptics who were trying to argue the case that transposition of EU directives in the UK was causing major concern to British business. Members of the group got their way on how the report should be done but then they found their concerns were greatly exaggerated. The report found there was little evidence of gold plating in the UK, even though the project started from a totally Eurosceptic point of view. That is why one does not hear much about the Davidson review anymore from Eurosceptics. It did not give them the result they sought.

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