Policy aims to make the regulators accountable

A new policy approach to making regulators accountable to the public is required, according to the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mrs O'Rourke.

The Minister has announced that she will seek Government approval next month to begin a process of consultation on a white paper on the regulation of the sectors for which she is responsible which include telecommunications, the airports and energy.

"A particular purpose of the proposed white paper will be to provide a clear and detailed policy framework on the accountability of regulators" she stated.

Regulators for the telecommunications and electricity sectors have already been appointed and there are plans to appoint a regulator for the gas industry and one to oversee the operation of the airports. These appointments are in line with developments across the European Union, where an increasing number of functions are moving from Ministerial and Departmental control to independent regulatory bodies.

The Minister stressed that in these circumstances, there is an increasing need for policy clarity, as well as an improved and detailed framework dealing with accountability of regulators.

"Ministers and their Departments are accountable to Government and the Oireachtas. It stands to reason that decisions made by a regulator must be subject to clear and reasonable public accountability requirements, while ensuring the absolute independence of the decision making process itself," Mrs O'Rourke stated.

The Minister said she is taking the view that a coherent framework, formulated by the Government and the legislature, within which a regulator is required for decisions, must be set out. "The question ultimately is who regulates the regulators and how can they work to the benefit of the consumer. The emergence of widespread competition in sectors of the economy formerly dominated by monopolies, particularly in the area of utilities, requires that regulatory bodies are independent and seen to be independent. Public and confidence demands that regulators must also be accountable. I believe we will find common sense ways to ensure that regulators are not alone independent but also accountable."

The Minister believes a comprehensive statutory system must be devised through which regulators are effective in the discharge of their independent mandates but are also required to account to the Oireachtas and the Irish public.

The question of the accountability of the director of telecommunications regulation, Ms Etain Doyle, was raised last year when she initially refused to answer questions from members of the Joint Committee on Public Enterprise and Transport. Ms Doyle, whose office oversees the telecommunications sectors, said she chose not to appear before the committee because her office is fully independent. She later agreed to reply to the committee's questions.

In a statement on the issue yesterday, Mrs O'Rourke said that what has been happening here in terms of the emerging regulatory system follows on the experience of the US and Britain. "They will admit they have made mistakes. I feel we are in a position to learn from their mistakes in designing our framework and procedures."