Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 7: To ask the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on the publication of the recent OECD report on Better Regulation in Ireland [45949/10]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 8: To ask the Taoiseach the position regarding the implementation of the 2001 OECD Report on Regulatory Reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45950/10]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 9: To ask the Taoiseach the position regarding the publication on 2 November 2010, of the OECD Report on Better Regulation in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46968/10]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, together.

I have outlined to the House on many occasions progress on the implementation of the OECD's 2001 report on regulatory reform in Ireland and the Government's 2004 White Paper on regulation. The better regulation unit in my Department is tasked with driving and supporting key projects across Government. In this context, it chairs the senior officials' group on economic regulation which oversaw the preparation of the Government's statement on economic regulation. Following the publication of that statement, I chaired the first meeting of the annual regulatory forum on 26 February last. The regulatory liaison group has already met twice this year.

Relevant Departments have been working closely with regulators in recent months to stress-test regulatory frameworks to ensure that they are sufficiently robust to be able to respond to major shocks and changes in their sectors and in the wider economy. A number of potential scenarios have already been identified in the case of each sector and it is expected that the Government will receive a report on the stress testing exercises shortly.

On 2 November last, the OECD published its Review of Better Regulation Systems and Processes in Ireland. The report is available at www.betterregulation.ie and copies have also been placed in the Oireachtas Library. The review was conducted as part of a larger project funded by the EU Commission and encompassing the original 15 members of the EU. It provides a comprehensive analysis of regulatory capacity in Ireland and the processes underpinning it. These processes include regulatory impact analysis, RIA; administrative burden reduction and approaches to the enforcement of regulation; and our approaches to the negotiation and transposition of EU legislation from a better regulation perspective.

The OECD notes that, in many areas, Ireland compares well with its European counterparts but suggests that further efforts will be necessary to improve competitiveness and contribute to economic recovery. Ireland's input into the recent EU Commission/OECD review was overseen by the senior officials group on economic regulation, which has now been tasked with developing appropriate actions to respond to the OECD's findings and recommendations.

The better regulation unit has an ongoing role in supporting Departments conducting regulatory impact analysis on legislative proposals. The importance of this function was highlighted by the OECD in its recent report. While good progress has been made, it is clear there are still problems regarding the quality of RIAs produced by Departments and the extent to which Departments comply with RIA requirements relating to draft EU legislation and significant statutory instruments. This will be among the issues which the senior officials group will look at as part of the response to the OECD's latest report.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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These questions relate to the OECD report on better regulation. Last night we saw on our television screens an example of no regulation. The "Prime Time Investigates" programme showed horrific examples of the way in which home care companies are recruiting workers with no training, no Garda vetting and no checking of references. It appears there is little or no inspection of what is taking place. A policy decision by this Government to wind down services being provided through the public health authorities and the HSE cut the amount of home help that is available to families caring for older people. A new private sector in home care provision has developed which is not regulated and parts of it, as we saw last night, has serious questions to answer. When will there be regulation of home care provision to deal with the horrific examples of abuse of elderly people which we saw on our television screens last night?

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Ceann Comhairle)
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It sounds like a question for the Minister for Health and Children.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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It is about regulation.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary documentation I have relates to the OECD report, which is a more general regulatory report.

I did not see the programme last night but I am aware from reports about it that there are clearly issues which are unacceptable and must be investigated and examined closely. The vast majority of services in this area are supplied by the HSE and HSE personnel but, as the Deputy said, a home care package programme has also been brought forward. There are many reputable service providers in that area but clearly some are unscrupulous and have not done their job properly. There is a commitment to look at this area, in respect of the public provision directly from the HSE and in respect of those who are involved in providing services through the private sector. All of that will have to be examined as a matter of urgency and I welcome the fact that this will be done.

In respect of the question on regulation, providing guidelines and making sure that standards and access to these services are more uniform across the country, I noted what the Minister of State with responsibility for elder people had to say this morning about guidelines coming forward in the New Year, as a result of much work done on the issue recently, and I look forward to those guidelines being brought forward quickly.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The problem is the huge gap between the theory and the practice. We have an official report from the OECD dealing with regulation, and then we have what is happening on the ground at a practical level. The reason we have the problem described so clearly last night on "Prime Time Investigates" is that this Government has made it more difficult for families to care for older people. There have been reductions in home help provision and home help hours, and people have difficulties in getting-----

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is the "foot in the door" syndrome.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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-----the carer's allowance. I also heard what the Minister of State had to say this morning. She spoke about guidelines being introduced, but she was not able to say when the statutory regulation will be brought in. I understand that some work is being done in preparing legislation. Can the Taoiseach tell us when there will be statutory regulation of home care services?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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We are moving into specific territory, but to be as helpful as I can, I do not accept that the Government has been seeking to make it more difficult. For example, the supervisory function of HIQA has been a good introduction for the health services in general and has led to a more objective uniform standard being provided. There has been a great increase over time in the provision of home help and carers. We are seeking to maintain front line services to the greatest extent we can, but there is a budgetary reality that we must try to deal with. We certainly hope that these community based services can continue to be provided to the greatest extent possible. I do not have that information in front of me now. It is true that it has become more widely available, and that is a good thing. There is obviously pressure on budgets everywhere, given the current situation. However, I believe that this level of provision will be as good as we have seen in recent years, as a result of efforts made in other areas to find savings. That is as it should be.

Entitlements for carers have remained for those who have other sources of welfare benefit, which was an innovation that was brought forward. We brought about a situation that changed considerably from the previous administration where carer's allowance became the highest social welfare payment in the code. These are all indications of the policies put in place that show we were trying to assist those people who are caring for their families, where it is appropriate, in community-based settings or home settings. That is as it should be.

Statutory regulation has to be examined as a matter of urgency. Putting in place guidelines as a first step to invoking statutory policies needs to be done in any event. In terms of an immediate response, whatever can be done as part of a wider approach of preparing statutory instruments and so on should be done. The investigation by the HSE, which will cover everyone who is in receipt of such services and which will presumably take some time, should inform us about the best way forward.

As Deputies know, the spectrum of need varies from case to case. We started with basic home help services - good-neighbour type services - which were provided in a flexible way and were suitable for those who require care and their families. We need to make sure there is proportionality in whatever we try to do. We must provide the necessary protections, but let us not have a system that would prevent people from-----

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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One final supplementary, Deputy Ó Caoláin.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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-----taking on work in a helpful way. We must make sure the work is done on a neighbourly basis.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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A minor filibuster.

The OECD report published on 2 November, which was welcomed by the Taoiseach, stated: "Regulatory as well as policy failures were a fundamental factor underlying the downturn". Is the Taoiseach aware that in 2006 the same OECD stated in a report on house prices that the most likely scenario was that prices would level out or decline slightly? In 2008, it went further and stated: "Much of the exceptionally large increase in house prices can be justified by Ireland's strong income growth, population expansion and the rising share of younger households". Clearly, there is a major discrepancy between the position of the OECD in 2006 and 2008 and its position in 2010. Would the Taoiseach like to comment on that discrepancy and on the role of the OECD in helping to create an illusion, a mirage?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I do not think it played any role in creating an illusion or mirage. What the Deputy's point shows graphically, as I have said myself on other occasions, is that international commentary in previous years did not foresee the scope, depth or severity of the financial crisis that came upon us in the autumn of 2008 and that we have been seeking to deal with since. In the planning that was undertaken, such worst-case scenarios were not contemplated as something to be prepared for. The OECD was not alone in that regard. The IMF, which deals with situations of crisis in economies, whether fiscal or otherwise, itself did not include that scenario in its planning.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It certainly did not. The Taoiseach is quite right.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Not very many people, if anyone, did. There are many who, with hindsight, point to this, that or the other to suggest that they were saying it all along but that was certainly not the case in the years preceding the crisis. There were risks but a confluence of the realisation of all of those risks was not regarded as being worthy of short odds. The international and domestic problems that hit us subsequently were very severe and we are still contending with them. The OECD was not on its own in saying that, and its having said that does not take away from other good work it has done, including the work we are considering in these questions.