Minister set to begin regulator review

The Government has given the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, the go-ahead to initiate a major review of the operations of regulators in the economy.

As a first step, interested parties will be asked to provide their views for a discussion paper on the subject to be completed over the coming months and submitted to Government by the end of the year.

The Government has already appointed regulators in the telecommunications and electricity sectors and has promised to appoint an airports regulator by the end of the year.

A regulator for the postal service is also likely to be appointed in the next couple of years, while the ambit of the electricity regulator, Mr Tom Reeves, is expected to be extended to the gas sector.

Against this background, Ms O'Rourke received approval from her Government colleagues yesterday to begin work on the discussion paper through a public consultation process.

The paper will cover the way regulators are appointed and operate, how they are accountable and how they relate to one another. However, it is understood that reports that Ms O'Rourke is considering the appointment of a "super-regulator" to oversee the other regulators are wide of the mark, with this route not seen as a likely outcome of the review process.

Interested parties will be asked to give their views on a range of issues. These include the role and functions of the regulators, how they should relate to the Minister, the Oireachtas and the courts, whether there is adequate provision in law for appeals to a regulator's decision and whether the way the regulators are appointed needs to be changed.

Ms O'Rourke is understood to believe that it is vital that regulators maintain their independence, but that they must operate within a clear policy framework and with proper routes of accountability. The responsibility of regulators to safeguard consumer rights will also be examined in the paper.

The paper will also discuss whether the regulator should be a single individual - as is the case with appointments made to date - or whether it should be a board or commission. It will also discuss how different regulators should relate to each other, including in cases where their jurisdiction overlaps.

The paper will also examine whether current procedures and legislation ensure that decisions made by a regulator are impartial and transparent.

Oireachtas committees are one route which will be examined to making regulators accountable, with the telecommunications regulator, Ms Etain Doyle, already having appeared before a committee to report on her important role.