Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 207: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he has completed his list of information obligations which their regulations impose on businesses; if so, the obligations involved; if not, when such a list will be finalised; if the most burdensome obligations, the regulations that they impose and the costs on businesses have been identified; if these costs, as they apply to businesses, have been measured; or if this aspect of the project has not been completed, the date by which this will be done; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34586/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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In March 2008, the Government set a target of 25 per cent for the reduction of the administrative burden of domestic regulation on business by the year 2012. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) is leading the cross-Government process to achieve this target.

DETE has developed a methodology to identify, prioritise and measure administrative burdens, as a necessary prelude to burden reduction. This methodology involves identifying all information obligations (IOs) arising from legislation that impose an administrative burden on business and prioritising these IOs for measurement by the end of 2008. To date, this Department has identified the legislation falling within its remit that imposes an administrative burden, and work is currently advancing on preparing a list of, and prioritising, all relevant IOs. This work is progressing well, and the process of prioritising the most burdensome of the identified IOs for measurement remains on target for completion by the end of 2008.

I understand that, according to the established methodology, burden measurement is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009. On completion of the measurement exercise, simplification plans will be prepared detailing how the 25% target will be met by the end of 2012.