CONFERENCE on

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CONFERENCE on Regulatory Impact Assessment Ankara
- 19, 20 and 21 April, 2006 Mr. TOM FERRIS
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Five Easy Phases 1. General Overview of
RIA2. Origins of RIA in Ireland3. How Ireland
does its RIA4. Consultation5. Benefits of RIA
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1. General Overview of RIA
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Why Have RIA ?

• To clarify justification for Regulation
• To assess alternatives (taxes, grants or fines)
• To identify all costs and benefits
• To enhance law-making quality
• To improve governance systems
• To improve public service outputs
• To enhance consultation
• To inform EU negoiations
• To try and ensure no surprises

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What is Regulatory Impact Assessment?

• A framework for assessing the likely effects of a
  proposed regulation, or of regulatory change
• A detailed assessment of the impacts, side
  effects and costs of regulation
• Includes structured consultation with
  stakeholders and citizens
• A discipline to be applied at early stage in the
  regulatory cycle before Government decides to
  regulate
• Not a substitute for decision-making but can help
  to inform policy decisions

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RIA Can Help Identify

• All relevant costs and benefits
• Considers scope for no policy change
• Alternative forms of regulation
• Alternatives to regulation
• Alternative implementation and design options
• Relevant proposals that merit examination, while
  recognising that proportionality must be taken
  into account

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RIA allows us to..

• Encourage a more structured and explicit
  examination of expected costs and benefits
• Highlight importance of consultation with
  stakeholders
• Encourage earlier focus on enforcement and
  compliance issues
• Who will enforce the regulations, what are the
  compliance targets?
• Introduce performance indicators for regulations,
  so that we can know if regulations are working
  well (or not working well)
• Respond to EU legislative proposals....hard work
  continues with EU membership with new EU
  regulatory proposals

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RIA for All ?

• RIA can help to improve the quality of governance
  through increasing the use of evidence-based
  decision-making
• RIA can help by enhancing the transparency and
  legitimacy of the regulatory process
• But any introduction of RIA must first take into
  account local existing procedures and practices
• There may be need for adaptation and adjustment
  to current structures and processes

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Critical Questions for RIATo Enforce and Comply
?

• Are proposals enforceable?
• e.g. resources
• Who will enforce them?
• How will consistency and accountability be
  ensured?
• What are compliance targets?
• Do benefits justify compliance costs?

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2. The Origins of RIA in Ireland
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Genesis of Regulatory Impact Assessment in Ireland

• Influence of OECD and EU on RIA in Ireland
• Delivering Better Government (Irish Government
  1996)
• Public Service Modernisation Act 1997
• OECD, Regulatory Reform in Ireland, 2001
• Regulating Better (Irish Government 2004)
• Government committed to RIA having started with
  Five Pilot Projects Cabinet 2005 Decision

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• National Implementation Milestones in Ireland

• 2001
• OECD Regulatory Review of Ireland
• 2002
• Draft Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) model
  developed
• 2004
• Publication of Government White Paper, Regulating
  Better
• RIA Pilot Project
• 2005
• Publication of RIA Report Consultation
  Guidelines

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White Paper Regulating Better January 2004

• Six Principles of Better Regulation Adopted
• Action Programme for Better Regulation

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Irish Consultation Guidelines

• Key Element of Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)
• Government White Paper Regulating Better
  Action Plan 5.1
• Procedures and Guidelines will be developed to
  promote better quality public consultation and to
  outline a full range of consultation options.
• Consideration will be given to the mechanisms
  for ensuring balanced coordination procedures,
  taking care to consider the particular
  requirements for not-for-profit groups

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Irelands RIA Structure

• Government Secretariat
• All Ministries
• Ministry of Finance
• Office of Prime Minister and Finance Ministry

• RIA check on Memos to Government
• RIAs undertaken
• Training and technical advice
• Reality checks on robustness of RIAs

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3. How Ireland does its RIA
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Mandatory RIA in Ireland

• Before recommending regulations, policy review
  groups should consider the potential for
  alternative approaches. This may include
  preparing a RIA
• When Memo brought to Govt seeking approval for
  General Scheme of a Bill, RIA to be attached to
  Memorandum
• RIA to be applied to draft EU Directives once
  they have been published by the Commission
• RIAs to be published subject to FOI exemptions

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How to do Screening RIA ?

• Screening RIA to be applied to
• All primary legislation involving
• Changes to regulatory framework,
• Significant Statutory Instruments
• Draft EU Directives or Regulations

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How RIA is done in Ireland

• Two phased approach
• Screening RIA
• Applied to all primary legislation involving
  changes to regulatory framework, significant
  Statutory Instruments and draft EU Directives and
  EU Regulations
• Full RIA
• Only conducted where Screening RIA suggests
  significant impacts (six criteria identified
  above) or significant costs (initial cost of 10
  million or cumulative costs of 50 million over
  10 years)

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And Screening RIA involves ?

• Description of policy context, objectives
  policy options/choices
• Identification of cost, benefits and other
  impacts of options
• Informal consultation including Government
  Departments, consumer and other interests
• Description of how enforcement and compliance
  will be achieved
• Review how will performance of regulations be
  measured?

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How to do Full RIA ?

• Full RIA only conducted where Screening RIA
  suggests
• Significant impacts (six criteria identified)
• Significant costs (initial cost of 10 million or
  cumulative costs of 50 million over 10 years)
• International experience suggests Full RIA in
  10-15 of cases

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And Full RIA involves ?

• More detailed analysis of options
• More in-depth analysis of impacts including in
  some cases CBA
• Formal consultation
• Summary of pros and cons of each option and
  identification of a recommended option where
  appropriate

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What Results in Ireland

• Draft RIA model developed in 2001
• White Paper Regulating Better committed to
  piloting RIA prior to its introduction in all
  Government Departments/Offices
• Five Departments agreed to pilot RIA
• A Steering Group formed and economic assistance
  provided
• This piloting has given the first results

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Pilot Ministries/Offices

• Health and Children
• Medical Practitioners Bill
• Enterprise, Trade and Employment
• Export Controls Bill
• Office of the Revenue Commissioners
• Betting Duty Regulations
• Justice, Equality and Law Reform
• Coroners Bill
• Environment, Heritage and Local Government
• Draft EU Groundwater Directive

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Are Lessons Being Learned ?

• Yes - many RIA lessons being learned
• More structured and explicit focus on the
  objectives behind regulations with
  identification of problems being addressed
• Identification and analysis of alternative
  options for achieving policy goals
• Recognition of difficulties of analysing and
  quantifying the costs associated with regulations

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Are There Wider Benefits ?

• Can help address cross-cutting issues
• Can identify unintended effects as well as
  alternative solutions
• Demonstrates that RIA can help inform Irelands
  negotiating position and transposition of EU
  Directives

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 Gathering Data / Information     1.
In-house expertise2.        Commission research
3.        Dedicated RIA Training 4.       
Networking for RIA 5.        Data /best
practice6. Other (e.g. Focus
groups/questionnaires)
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4. CONSULTATION
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RIA Needs to Have Consultation, Consultation and
Consultation

• To assist the decision-making process
• To contribute to evidence-based policy making
• To help identify possible alternatives to
  regulation
• To strengthen focus of policy makers on the needs
  of the public and end-consumer

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Phases of the Consultation Process

• Planning
• Execution
• Analysis Evaluation the BACK-CHECK

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Consultation means..

• Structured public engagement with those whose
  views are to be sought
• Providing information to the key audience on the
  purpose and subject of the consultation
• e.g. a policy initiative, a regulatory change, a
  legislative proposal or a service delivery
• Seeking, receiving, analysing and responding to
  feedback from the key audience
• It is important to differentiate between
• Ongoing consultative mechanisms (involving
  standing committees, fora or groups) and
• Once-off consultation exercises

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Plan for Consultation

• Decide what is purpose of consultation
• What do you want to achieve / questions you want
  answered
• Who to consult and timeframes?
• RIA can help to identify all stakeholders
• How to make stakeholders aware?
• Are outside experts or consultants required?
• Compliance with legal obligations
• Data Protection, Freedom of Information, Equal
  Status etc.

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Different Methods of Consultation

• Written Consultations
• Questionnaire-based survey
• Internet and use of IT tools
• Face-to-Face Interviews
• Use of Focus Groups
• Public Meetings

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5. Benefits of RIA
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But we in Public Sector areare doing...

• Have a more structured and explicit examination
  of expected costs and benefits of regulation
• Have important consultation with stakeholders
• Have an earlier focus on enforcement and
  compliance issues - - who will enforce the
  regulations, what are the compliance targets?
• Heralding the introduction of performance
  indicators for regulations, so that they can show
  if the regulations are working well (or not
  working well)
• Giving an early response to EU legislative
  proposals

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Feedback and Review are Critical

• Give feedback to key players and those who
  participate
• Publish and acknowledge submissions made (taking
  account of data protection etc.)
• Review the consultation process

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Challenges of RIA

• Yes, many elements of RIA already there
• But traditional ways will be challenged
• Key players will feel some discomfort!
• And yet if RIA is well explained there can be
  real benefits for the main players and in the
  public interest

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Benefits of Guidelines

• Best Practice
• Provoke ideas on alternative methods of
  consulting
• Increase awareness among groups and individuals
  who wish to participate in consultation, on what
  to expect

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Critical success factors

• High level administrative and political support
• Central Support from Prime Ministers Department
• Awareness-raising and training
• Development of RIA network for sharing of
  experience/best practice
• Ongoing liaison with EU colleagues especially EU
  Directors of Better Regulation
• Learning from doing RIA very much an iterative
  process

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RIA adds value

Introduce Regulatory Impact Assessment

• Existing Formal
• Systems of Evaluating
• Proposals and
• Plans

Existing Systems of Consulting with Stakeholders
Existing Processes
Training / Resources
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Ministry Environment, Heritage and Local
Government Draft EU Groundwater Directive

• Framework to protect surfacegroundwater
• EU Nine Member States doing their RIAs
• Ireland Cross-sectoral Team (mInistry EPA)
• Objective ....to protect and control water
  pollution........

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Ministry Environment, Heritage and Local
Government Draft EU Groundwater Directive

• Compulsory Directive...scope to adapt
• (- and) Economic, environmental and social
• Very technical and very complex
• Team debated overall findings and conclusions-
  not into deep detail
• Benefit of CREATIVE BRAINSTORMING

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Ministry Environment, Heritage and Local
Government Draft EU Groundwater Directive

• BENEFITS
• Qualityof life now and in future
• Less Water Treatment Plants (and so less costs)
• Better farm practice (less pollution)
• Better industry practice

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Ministry Environment, Heritage and Local
Government Draft EU Groundwater Directive

• COSTS
• More monitoring
• More reports
• More enforcement
• More compliance (farms, mining and roads
  construction and maintenance)

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Ministry Environment, Heritage and Local
Government Draft EU Groundwater Directive

• This RIA for Ireland has meant..........
• Clarification of issues
• Narrowed interpretation
• Set agenda for sectoral actions e.g. River Basin
  Management Plans).
• Identified mechanisms for review
• General lessons for tackling up-coming EU
  DIRECTIVES

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Websiteof Office of Prime Ministerwww.irlgov.i
e(Department of Taoiseach)and look at
BETTER REGULATION
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• Questions