Since March 2011 there have been four Bills initiated by me and brought through the legislative process to completion.The first was the Access to Central Treasury Funds (Commission for Energy Regulation) Bill 2011. While no Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) was completed specifically for this Bill, a full RIA was undertaken with respect to the provisions of the related Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act, 2010. That Act is concerned with the carrying out of certain functions by the Commission for Energy Regulation, in respect of which borrowings from the Central Treasury Funds are necessary. The 2011 Bill itself was enacted on 23 November 2011 as the Access to Central Treasury Funds (Commission for Energy Regulation) Act 2011. The second was the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011. A RIA for the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011 was published with the Bill on the 27th September 2011. The Bill, Explanatory Memoranda and RIA were made available on my Department’s website and also on the Oireachtas website. The Bill itself was enacted on the 25th February 2012 as the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2012.
The third was the Electricity Regulation (Carbon Revenue Levy)(Amendment) Bill 2012. This was emergency legislation on foot of a Supreme Court Decision and therefore was exempt from RIA requirements. The Bill itself was enacted on 25th May 2012 as the Electricity Regulation (Carbon Revenue Levy)(Amendment) Act 2012.
The fourth was the Gas Regulation Bill 2013 which was published on 25 July 2013. A RIA on the Gas Regulation Bill 2013, setting out the policy context and rationale for the implementation of full ownership unbundling, including for the sale of Bord Gáis Energy, was prepared. Some of the material contained in the RIA was considered to be commercially sensitive in light of the ongoing transaction process. Therefore, it is not intended to publish the RIA at this stage. The bill itself was enacted on 3rd December 2013 as the Gas Regulation Act 2013.
In addition the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011, while not initiated by me, was enacted on 2 August 2011.
There are a number of other Bills currently in preparation in my Department which will be brought through the Houses of the Oireachtas in due course and the position regarding RIAs for these particular Bills is set out in the table below.
|
Title of Bill
|
Current position regarding RIA
|
|
ESB (Electronic Communications Network) Bill 2013
|
RIA has been prepared in respect of the draft legislation and will be published following approval of the legislation by Government
|
|
Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Smart Metering) Bill 2014
|
Preparation of RIA is under consideration and in the event that a RIA is carried out it will be published prior to the publication of the Bill.
|
|
Minerals Development Bill
|
Screening RIA to be published with the Bill.
|
|
Geothermal Energy Development Bill
|
RIA was approved by Government on 13 July 2010 and was published.
|
|
EirGrid Bill
|
RIA will be prepared and published prior to publication of the Bill.
|
|
Common Arrangements for Gas Bill 2013
|
RIA will be prepared and published prior to publication of the Bill.
|
|
Inland Fisheries (Modernisation & Consolidation) Bill
|
RIA will be prepared and published prior to publication of the Bill.
|
|
Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2014.
|
RIA will be prepared and published prior to publication of the Bill.
|
My Department undertakes RIA in accordance with the procedures set out in the RIA Guidelines published by the Department of the Taoiseach.
