ESRI Policy Seminar

ESRI Policy Seminar: "Building Regulatory Capacity"

Venue: ESRI, Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2
Date: 26/11/2009
Time: 16:00
Speaker: Cathal Guiomard, Commission for Aviation Regulation.

This paper aims to assess the current capacity of the regulatory system in Ireland (encompassing both independent regulators and their parent Departments), in terms of both inputs and outputs, and recommend how it can be improved. It describes the current economic regulatory landscape in Ireland, in particular the rate at which new regulators have been created, or new functions added to existing offices, in recent years. The consistency of the stated rationales for these regulatory actions with the Government’s Better Regulation agenda is explored.

The paper describes the current resourcing of the main economic regulators, in terms of their financing, staff numbers and the professional qualifications of staff. This represents the input side of the equation. On the output side, the paper summarises the findings of recent efforts to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of both regulators and their parent Departments, such as the Review of the Economic Regulatory Environment published by the Department of the Taoiseach; the Report of the Government Task Force on the Public Service; and the Report of the Organisational Review Programme (Pilot Phase) covering the Departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; Enterprise, Trade and Employment; and Transport. The paper recommends actions to build both regulatory capacity (in independent regulators) and policy capacity (in Departments), focusing on the appropriate division of responsibilities; the necessary resources, skills and strategies; and communication between regulators and Departments. Finally, it calls for increased emphasis on ex-post evaluation and academic study, and the creation of clear and mutually agreed performance targets for regulators.

No booking required. All welcome.

Details of forthcoming ESRI Seminars can be found at www.esri.ie.