Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 15 Apr 2003

Vol. 565 No. 3

Written Answers. - Regulatory Reform.

John Bruton

Ceist:

131 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will make a statement on the adoption or otherwise by his Department of the recommendations made in the OECD review, Regulatory Reform in Ireland; and the concrete steps taken by his Department in pursuit of these recommendations since the publication of the report. [10783/03]

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. Walsh):

The OECD Report on Regulatory Reform in Ireland, published in 2001, did not focus specifically on the agriculture sector. In addition, as the Deputy will be aware, the regulatory environment within which my Department operates is heavily dominated by European Union legislation.

Nonetheless, as part of the regulatory reform process, my Department has identified several areas where current legislation requires to be reviewed or updated. This includes a comprehensive review of animal health legislation and updating of existing legislation relating to the veterinary profession. Drafting work is well advanced in both these areas.