Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 368: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the dealings that he or agencies under the control of his Department have had with the business sector which incur regulatory costs or compliance costs on behalf of business; if he has identified the baseline cost profile for business associated with that activity; if he has set targets for the reduction of these different cost items; and the cost and the target reduction in each case. [25263/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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In March of this year, the Government decided to reduce the administrative burden of domestic regulation on business by 25% by 2012. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment is responsible for devising the approach and methodology used across Government, for co-coordinating the work across Government Departments and agencies and for reporting to Government on progress.

In this context, the Minister recently asked all departments to list the information obligations which their regulations impose on business, and to prioritise and measure the most costly requirements. When this assessment is completed, my Department, along with other departments, under the leadership of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, will review the situation to see how the 25% reduction can best be achieved.