Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

My Department’s report on the assessment of the cumulative impact of proposed measures to improve working conditions in Ireland published last year highlighted that many of the recent cost increases for business were related to Government imposed regulatory changes. Business groups have also recently highlighted the impact of the overall regulatory burden and the administrative burden on business.

The programme for Government calls for the establishment of a cost of business advisory forum that will focus, in particular, on the regulatory burden as well as other costs highlighted by business. The recent memorandum for Government on the action plan on competitiveness and productivity also stated that in order to address costs, and so as not to duplicate existing structures, the forum should be established as a sub-group of the enterprise forum.

It is proposed that the cost of business advisory forum will comprise officials from key regulatory agencies, as well as representatives from the enterprise sector and social partners. The aim would be to convene its first meeting before the end of May. It is envisaged that the forum should be output-orientated and not be just a discussion group. This approach would see a finite number of meetings, possibly no more than eight meetings, focusing on individual key themes of concern to the business community. It is proposed that the outcome of the forum will be a report for consideration by the full enterprise forum, written by its chair, outlining a set of policy and administrative changes to improve the cost burden for businesses, particularly small enterprises in Ireland.

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