Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 254: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of staff in terms of whole time equivalents he has allocated within his Department to support the Better Regulation group's work; the financial resources that have been spent in support of such work to date in 2008; the expected expenditure for the remainder of 2008; the budget for 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45698/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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There are no whole time equivalent staff engaged in support of the work of the Better Regulation Unit of the Department of An Taoiseach and there is no specific budget allocation in this area.

My Department is represented on a Working Group convened by the Department of An Taoiseach to bring together officials from each Government Departments and the Office of the Attorney General to share experience and develop best practice on conducting Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIA). The inaugural meeting was held in January 2007 and there have been a number of meetings to date. Participation in this Group takes place as part of the normal duties of the official in question.

My Department is also a member of the Department of An Taoiseach's RIA Network. The Network issues a regular RIA Bulletin, which is produced by the Better Regulation Unit of the Department of An Taoiseach and which is made available to staff of my Department via the Department's intranet.

My Department participates in periodic consultations of Government Departments by the Better Regulation Unit of the Department of An Taoiseach in relation to particular procedures, processes or practices concerning regulation.

The outcome of the Working Group in terms of the legislative process is implemented by the relevant business units of the Departments who are involved in the drafting of legislation as part of normal work practice.