Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy's comments in regard to cost are well timed. It is important to remember that the high level group that was appointed in July 2008 has so far identified €20 million in savings from the conduct of these regulatory impact analyses. That is a significant beginning to the process of evaluating costs. However, I agree with the Deputy that we must put numbers behind the savings. It is not enough to talk entirely about the process of regulatory impact analysis. This group, which is expected to report in the summer, will offer those numbers in its annual report to the Tánaiste on the savings being made through the RIA process.

In addition, we are also rolling out the standard cost model across all Departments. This will allow Opposition Deputies and the public to conduct a proper comparative analysis as to how we are performing in comparison with other European Union countries.

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