Regulation impact plan due Tuesday

A system to assess the impact of all new regulations introduced by the Government is expected to be a central part of a major White Paper to be published on Tuesday.

The long-awaited Government White Paper on Regulation will set down a scheme of regulatory impact analysis, due to ensure that the benefits of new regulations introduced outweigh costs in terms of administration and compliance. Business in particular has been complaining about the burden imposed by new regulations in a host of areas and has argued that it is deterring investment and enterprise.

The White Paper is expected to follow through on commitments to introduce a rigorous regulatory impact analysis on all significant policy changes. Considerable work has already gone into devising an appropriate framework for this analysis although it remains to be seen whether any areas will be exempted from the new rules.

The need for strengthening the system of assessing and reporting on the implications for proposed recommendations was a key recommendation of an OECD study on regulation here, published in 2001. Following this a group of Government officials and sectoral regulators prepared a public consultation document - "Towards Better Regulation" - published in 2002. Eighty-nine submissions were received from interested parties.

Among the main focuses of the paper will be measures to co-ordinate the existing regulators in different sectors. It is not clear, however, whether it will recommend a new commission to oversee the regulators.

The White Paper is expected to have a greater focus on consumer interests. The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, is planning a new consumer council to advance this objective - a commitment that regulation does not hinder competitiveness and the interaction of the legal and regulatory processes. It will touch on areas of competition policy, in particular relating to the regulation of entry to the professions and its impact on the market.