Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 91: To ask the Taoiseach the role of the better regulation unit in his Department; the number of staff working in the unit in each of the years 2004 to 2010 inclusive; the unit's spending in each of those years; the progress made on the implementation of the 2004 regulating better government White Paper; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35022/10]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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In 2004, the Government published the White Paper, 'Regulating Better'. The White Paper provides the basis for work on the Better Regulation agenda. Some of the key areas outlined in the White Paper relate to specific sectoral issues for which responsible Ministers report directly to the House. The Better Regulation Unit in my Department is tasked with the overall promotion of the Better Regulation agenda across Departments and there has been considerable progress in the areas for which it is responsible in recent years.

Following a Government Decision in June 2005, Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) must be applied to all proposals for primary legislation, significant Statutory Instruments, draft EU Directives and significant EU Regulations. RIA is a tool which is used to assess the likely effects of a proposed new regulation or regulatory change in a structured and transparent way. An independent Review of the Operation of RIA was commissioned by the Better Regulation Unit and was published in June 2008. It acknowledged that good progress had been made in embedding the process since its original introduction but also highlighted some areas where change was needed.

Arising from the Review's recommendations, Revised RIA Guidelines were published by the Better Regulation Unit last year which take account, in particular, of the need for improved quantitative analysis and for the increased use of RIA to evaluate draft EU legislative proposals. Following consultation with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, specific information was also included in the revised Guidelines on the measurement of compliance and administrative costs on business.

The Better Regulation Unit organises and directly delivers a training course on RIA for officials who will be preparing legislation. Some 320 officials have undertaken the 2 day RIA training course to date with a further course scheduled for later this month. The course content was re-configured in 2009 to take account of the findings of the independent Review and is available not only to Departmental officials but also to individuals working in independent regulators. The course also takes account of the Guidelines on Consultation which were published by the Better Regulation Unit in 2005. The Better Regulation Unit also delivers shorter RIA modules and offer an on-line RIA training tool to ensure the maximum possible number of officials are reached.

The Better Regulation Unit has, together with the Office of the Attorney General, steered and focused work in the area of modernisation of the Statute Book. This work is designed to increase the transparency and accessibility of the Statute Book for the citizen. The Statute Law Revision Project has helped to clear away thousands of redundant and obsolete Acts so that we can see what needs to be repealed and re-enacted in modern, consolidated form. Almost 3,500 obsolete, pre-1922, Acts have already been repealed by the Statute Law Revision Acts of 2005 and 2007.

The Statute Law Revision Act 2009 was signed by the President in December of last year. This Act deals specifically with Local and Personal Acts up to and including the year 1850 and Private Acts up to and including the year 1750. Private Acts are those which are concerned with the affairs of a single individual or body, and Local and Personal Acts are concerned with matters affecting a very limited section of the community such as a single local authority or company. The Act provides for the express repeal of more than 1,350 such Acts. This is in addition to the almost 3,500 Public and General Acts which were already repealed by the Statute Law Revision Acts of 2005 and 2007.

A further element of the Better Regulation Strategy to simplify legislation is the programme of Statute Law Restatement. This is being undertaken by the Law Reform Commission and provides, in the case of selected Acts, a single, up-to-date text, including all amendments. The Acts to be restated as part of the programme were selected following an extensive consultation process and reflect Government priorities. This process of Restatement will also facilitate future consolidation and modernisation of legislation. Significant improvements have also been made to the Online Statute Book in recent years. In addition, a dedicated electronic system for drafting Statutory Instruments has been developed by the Better Regulation Unit and is now managed by the Publications Office. This system ensures that regulations are made available for online publication as soon as they are signed. Furthermore, the Better Regulation Unit produced the first comprehensive listing of all Regulatory Bodies in Ireland in 2007.

The Better Regulation Unit commissioned the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in partnership with Compecon to carry out an independent Review of the Economic Regulatory Environment. This was published together with a Government Statement on Economic Regulation in October 2009. This Statement provides a framework for the future development of economic regulation in Ireland and covers issues such as governance and accountability; the appropriateness of regulatory structures and mandates; cost effectiveness and engagement with stakeholders. It commits relevant Ministers to reviewing the roles and mandates of regulators at least every five years and they will also have to approve planned expenditure by regulators, including any industry levies, following consultation with stakeholders. The Senior Officials Group on Economic Regulation, supported by the Better Regulation Unit, is tasked with the implementation of the actions set out in the Government Statement.

In line with the commitment in the Government Statement to initiate an Annual Regulatory Forum, I, together with the Tánaiste and other relevant Ministers met with key regulators, the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency at the end of February to discuss the implementation of the Government Statement and the contribution that improved competition and regulation across sectors can make to economic recovery and renewal. Arising from these discussions, it was decided that a Regulatory Liaison Group involving senior Departmental officials and key regulators would meet regularly to progress key issues and that the Better Regulation Unit would act as secretariat to the Group. In this context, relevant Departments are currently working with regulators to "stress-test" regulatory frameworks to ensure that they are sufficiently robust to be able to respond to major shocks and changes in their sectors and in the wider economy. It is expected that Government will receive a report on these exercises before the end of the year.

The OECD are currently conducting a review of Ireland's regulatory systems and processes. The Review is being conducted as part of a set of similar reviews covering the original 15 EU Member States which is being funded by the EU Commission and covers issues such as Regulatory Impact Analysis as well as Administrative Burden Reduction and approaches to enforcement which are overseen by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation. The Better Regulation Unit is co-ordinating Irish Government input into the Review and it is expected that the report will be completed later this year.

The Better Regulation Unit also represents Ireland at the EU High Level Group of Regulatory Experts, at Directors of Better Regulation meetings and at the OECD Regulatory Policy Committee. The number of staff working in the Better Regulation Unit in each of the years 2004 to 2010 and the Unit's spending in each of those years is set out in the following table.

*These figures represent staff numbers at the start of each year

** These figures exclude staff costs and include costs of commissioning and publishing independent reviews and reports, RIA training, as well as economic consultancy for RIA and travel and subsistence in support of EU and OECD meetings.

***This figure represents the amount spent by the Better Regulation Unit between January and August 2010