The Government is to set up a new body which will try to cut the level of regulations facing business, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has announced. However, he warned against expectations of a wave of deregulation.
The Better Regulation Group will be created by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin in September. Independently chaired, it will be able to recommend the repeal or amendment of regulations "on a problem-solving basis", said Mr Ahern.
He was speaking at the announcement of the Government's new Regulatory Impact Assessments that will force government departments to consult more widely before drawing up new laws. Formal rules will be set out for departments to consult with the public, business and other outside interests before drafting legislation.
The new system has operated successfully in five departments, including the departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Health and Children and the Revenue Commissioners - since June last year.
However, Mr Ahern sought to emphasise that the establishment of the new business regulation group does not herald a wave of deregulation. "I would argue that regulation is essential, even though it has costs for the Government, business and the consumer.
"It is essential to prevent market failures, to ensure the health and welfare of the citizen, the worker, the consumer and of business itself," he declared.
Too often, he said, the business community complained about regulation, but it is the first to complain when something goes wrong. The Government, on the other hand, had to ensure that regulation was necessary, proportionate and developed in the open.
In addition, he said, the Government had to consider using alternatives to regulation on occasions "such as co-regulation, or using taxes, charges, grants, fines or subsidies to achieve the desire goal.
"If we are to regulate, we need to have hard evidence in terms of the likely burden of compliance on the citizen and business," said Mr Ahern. The cost to the State of enforcement could often be considerable.
"A clearer understanding in advance of legislative decisions being taken can avoid surprises or disputes about resources afterwards.
"We have taken a broad view of regulatory reform, one that aims for better governance - through simpler rules and through greater participation and transparency in the formation of rules and regulations," he said.
Under new Cabinet procedures, government departments would draw up a report, known as a regulatory impact analysis, to judge the impact of new legislation, and to ensure that it does not have unintended consequences.
The new rules are difficult, the Taoiseach acknowledged, and would force politicians and officials to consider the impact of legislation on all of the Government's activities, not just on their own departments.
An examination carried out by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development showed that business had "for too long" shaped the regulatory agenda, at the expense of other sections of society.
"We need the citizen and the citizen as consumer more firmly at the centre of policy making," the Taoiseach told top civil and public servants in Farmleigh yesterday.
