Business Regulation

Role of the Business Regulation Unit

The Business Regulation Unit was set up in 2007 to drive and coordinate the Government’s administrative burden measurement and reduction programme. The Government set a target in March 2008 to reduce the burden of red tape on business by 25% by the end of 2012.

The Unit drives the administrative burden reduction agenda through four main workstreams.

1. The Unit provides secretariat to the High-Level Group (HLG) on Business Regulation, a standing dialogue of officials and business and union representatives, chaired by the Minister for Small Business, John Perry, TD, and tasked with identifying ways of reducing the burden of red tape on business. The Group acts as a clearing house for specific business suggestions for red-tape reduction by identifying administrative solutions and simplifications across Government. Please see the links at the bottom of the page for more information regarding the HLG.
2. The Unit chairs the Inter-Departmental Group (IDG) on Administrative Burden Reduction, which is composed of officials from all Departments responsible for regulation affecting business, as well as Revenue and the Central Statistics Office. The IDG coordinates the cross-Government measurement and reduction of administrative burdens aimed at reaching the Government’s 25% reduction target, to be reached by the end of 2012.
3. Within the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the Business Regulation Unit has measured administrative burdens in Company Law, Employment Law and Health & Safety Law, and supports and coordinates the efforts of the relevant Line Units and Agencies to draft simplification plans in those areas, and to deliver the necessary reductions.
4. The Unit also coordinates Ireland’s interaction with Europe in this area, providing the Irish Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for the European Commission’s Administrative Burden Reduction Action Programme. The Unit is also a member of the International Standard Cost Model Network and attends meetings of the European High Level Group of Regulatory Experts.

Additionally, the Unit has convened a group of inspection and enforcement agencies, the Risk-Based Enforcement Group, to share best practice and establish a critical path of steps towards better risk-based enforcement. The group periodically makes recommendations to the High-level Group on ways to improve the practice of risk-based enforcement across Government, and to encourage, where possible, concrete collaborations between the participating Bodies that will improve their effectiveness and efficiency.

Current Membership of the HLG (PDF, 46KB)

Terms of Reference of the HLG (PDF, 47KB)