I move amendment No. 15:
In page 10, between lines 46 and 47, to insert the following subsection:
"(2) Before any order or regulation is made under this Act, the Minister shall publish a statement outlining the likely costs to both an employer and an employee of complying with any requirements specified by the regulation, and the Minister shall cause to have this statement laid before the Oireachtas at the same time as the order is laid.".
The Government has clearly signalled that it wishes to be sensitive to the possible effect on employment costs of any new legislation. The Minister has convincingly argued that the extra costs caused under this legislation may not be substantial. However, it is important that we provide some system to proof legislation for its cost on employment. There should be an onus on Ministers, before they introduce regulations to implement this Act or set out regulations under which different terms of the Act are to be interpreted, that they at least publish a statement of the likely cost to both employer and employee of complying with the Act's requirements.
It is a common complaint that there is excessive regulation and form filling in complying with tax and other regulations. In the last buget we saw the Minister reduce the number of forms by consolidating them into one. Presumably that was a recognition of the cost of compliance with its multiplicity of forms. This amendment would be a useful amendment for Ministers to bear in mind when they introduce legislation — even though the motivation is good — so that they will ensure that there are no hidden pitfalls that will create costs and eventually damage both our ability to create employment and our ability to compete with other countries. This would be a sensible course of action.
We like to be fair and to take the side of individuals, but we must also be aware that every right we confer becomes a duty for somebody else. We should at least look at the scale of the costs involved. I would like the Minister, when she lays the regulations before the House, to make a statement of likely costs and satisfy the House that they will not be excessively onerous.