Whither Better Regulation?
May 2012
Regulation is a key instrument of contemporary governance. Ireland saw a proliferation of regulatory agencies in the last few decades. More generally regulatory ways of governing using rules to achieve government objectives have displaced forms of governance which depend on governmental discretion or on expenditure. Successive governments have been aware of the need to provide a strategic overview of regulatory capacity and oversight techniques and have worked closely with the OECD to introduce programmes of regulatory reform. The 2004 White Paper Regulating Better was a landmark statement of governmental objectives to ensure the quality of regulation in Ireland through the establishment of key regulatory principles and processes of consultation and of regulatory impact assessment. The implementation of the White Paper commitments was challenging. An OECD Review in 2010 found that the Better Regulation Unit, located within the Department of the Taoiseach, had been effective in raising awareness of the principles and requirements of better regulation.
For more, see the Whither Better Regulation Policy Brief