Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 129: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if, in view of the commitment to cut the administrative cost of regulation by 25% by 2012, the baseline cost of regulation has been calculated; if not when it is expected to complete this calculation; the way it is intended to do so; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10034/10]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 130: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reduction in percentage terms that has been achieved in the cost of red tape since the commitment was made to reduce the administrative cost of regulation by 25% by 2012 for each Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10035/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 129 and 130 together.

In March 2008 the Government set a 25% target to reduce administrative burdens on business arising from regulations by 2012. My Department is charged with leading the cross-Government drive to reduce administrative burdens. This is being done in a prioritised way, drawing from the experience of other Member States involved in administrative burden reduction.

During 2009, a prioritized list of more than thirty Information Obligations in Company Law, Employment Law and Health & Safety Law, which falls within the remit of my Department, were measured. The results of this exercise were validated by business in December 2009.

My Department is now setting up a series of simplification workshops, to be run during the first half of this year, to identify ways to reduce burdens in the three measured areas. The workshops will canvass business for their views on how best to reduce the measured burdens.

At Inter-Departmental level Departments that have regulations that affects business are identifying the information obligations contained in their legislation that are likely to be causing the biggest burdens for business. A consolidated priority list of information obligations will be agreed and then measured in a single cross-Government project. Simplification plans will then be developed to reduce the administrative burden. I expect that this project will be completed in 2011.

It will not be possible to provide a final figure for the overall baseline until all of the burdens have been measured and the simplification plans have been completed.