Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Question 9: To ask the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation the steps he has taken to reduce the regulatory burden on business; the steps he proposes to take over the next three months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4171/12]

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Good progress has been made by my Department and its agencies in reducing administrative burdens on business, with a reduction of more than 23% already achieved. This amounts to annual savings for business of more than €198 million. Details of all the initiatives making up this total are available on my Department's website.

Successful initiatives resulting in significant savings include company law savings of almost €80 million per annum, more than €33 million of which is due to the work of the Companies Registration Office, CRO, with companies now able to submit their annual returns online via the CRO website. It is envisaged that by mid-year, the audit exemption threshold for companies with fewer than 50 employees will be further increased from the current limits - €7.3 million for turnover and €3.65 million for balance sheet - to the maximum allowable under EU law, that is, €8.8 million for turnover and €4.4 million for balance sheet. Raising the threshold will increase the €4 million in savings already achieved. In health and safety law, a total of €117 million in annual administrative savings for business has been delivered by the Health and Safety Authority via two key projects, namely, the BeSMART online tool for preparing the risk assessment and safety statement, at a cost of €53 million, and the SMP20 guidelines, costing €64 million, which assist construction firms with fewer than 20 employees in establishing and maintaining an effective safety management system.

The reorganisation of the five existing employment rights and industrial relations, ERIR, bodies, which I have set in train, will result in a simplified two-tier structure comprising a single body of first instance adjudication and a single body of appeal. This new structure will provide a better service for both employees and employers, with fewer delays and reduced administrative burdens. Already there has been some significant early progress, including the development of a single complaint form for use in all existing bodies, the establishment of a single point of entry for all claims, and the creation of a centralised website containing all relevant information on employment rights and industrial relations. My officials are currently using the standard cost model to estimate the likely savings for business that will be delivered by the ERIR simplification and will report on these later in the year. Estimates of the administrative burden savings that will arise from some of the simplified approaches within the consolidated companies Bill will be also produced.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

My Department also co-ordinates the cross-Government measurement and reduction of administrative burdens towards the 25% target to be reached by the end of this year. A project to measure the burden imposed by regulation under the responsibility of seven Departments and Revenue was initiated in September 2011, and I expect results from the first cluster of Departments by the end of the first quarter of this year.

Work is continuing to identify new areas where administrative burdens on business can be reduced. In this respect, the high level group on business regulation is an important forum for my Department to hear directly from business representatives. As part of the action plan for jobs, the Government will be undertaking an assessment of the opportunities to achieve further reductions in regulatory burdens.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I am confused by the Minister of State's reply. According to the briefing I obtained from his Department, an initial target of a 25% reduction in administrative burdens was set, with that reduction expected to produce cost savings for businesses of €500 million. However, the Minister of State says there has been a reduction of 23% and an associated saving of €198 million.

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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The target is 25%.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, the target is 25%. However, according to page 46 of the briefing given to me by the Department 12 months ago, a 25% reduction should represent a monetary saving of €500 million. If that is so, how can a 23% reduction amount to a saving of only €198 million?

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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The figure is a whole-of-Government estimate. A large number of intergovernmental bodies and Departments are working on this initiative, but my reply referred only to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. It is about the simplification of regulations, but not all of the Departments that are bringing in reductions deal with business.

There are many simplifications that can be introduced to make the methodology and operation of a Department more effective. The burden of inspections on companies and the associated regulatory requirements are very much a hidden cost. We are obliged to reduce that cost. In regard to the simplification process, overall administrative burdens in the areas of company law, employment law and health and safety law have been reduced by more than 23% to date. Details of all of these initiatives are available on the website.

In addition, workshops were held around the country, which were very well attended, in which we discussed how best we can engage with business people. The high level group established by the previous Administration has as its aim to identify burden issues to Government and to follow through on the implementation of corrective measures. As a former Minister, the Deputy will be aware that it is difficult to bring that mind set into Government. The high level group has been effective thus far, with progress being made in regard to the health and safety statement, online taxation returns and so on. It is about finding practical solutions. In regard to enforcement and inspection, there is now increased co-operation with those bodies. Our objective is to reduce inspections of compliant firms and to identify those which are not compliant.