Study Visit to Ireland Review of meetings, 31 January – 4 February 2011 Tom Ferris Senior Associate Consultant Jacobs a

1. Study Visit to IrelandReview of meetings,31 January – 4 February 2011Tom FerrisSenior Associate Consultant Jacobs and Associates Europe Ltd.Dublin 1

2. Timetable • Day 1: Introduction, Embassy and Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment • Day 2: Irish Business & Employers Confederation (IBEC) and Institute of Public Administration (IPA) • Day 3: Department of Justice, Probation Service and Gardai (Police) • Day 4: Office of Minister for Drugs • Day 5: Some Conclusions 2

3. Better regulation in new EUMember States “Romania drafting a Better Regulation strategy with 5 pillars: • Impact Assessment • Measuring theadministrative costs and reducing the administrative burdens • Consultation and dialogue with the stakeholders • Legislative simplification, and • Application of the EU law”. Edward Donelan, Sigma, OECD, “Public Policy – New Developments in 2007”, Conference on Good Governance andPublic Administrative Reform, Bucharest, 6 December 2007

4. Day 1: Policy-making in Ireland • Policy ideas come from many sources: Government Programmes, Court decisions, EU decisions, International obligations, think-tanks and from the public • Government has to prioritise choices balancing political needs with social good • Progress of Policy, from Government decision to Law, is laid down in the Cabinet Handbook *www.taoiseach.gov.ie 4

5. RIA introduced in June 2005 Irish Government decided that all Government Departments and Offices should prepare Regulatory Impact Assessments for: - all proposals for primary legislation involving changes to the regulatory framework; exceptions, e.g. Finance Bill, security, emergency and some criminal legislation significant Statutory Instruments proposals for EU Directives and for significant5 EU Regulations when they are published by the European Commission …more recently Government decided that RIAs should be prepared for Policy Reviews www.betterregulation.ie 5

6. RIA Guidelines, June 2009 More details on how RIA should be integrated into the EU policy-making process Inclusion of standard approach to calculating administrative costs (being developed for 25% reduction target) Inclusion of advice on calculating public service implementation costs Extended discussion of methodologies More practical examplesbeing assembled www.betterregulation.ie 6

7. Dept. of Enterprise, Trade & Innovation Irish Government has set a target to reduce the administrative burdens caused by national legislation by 25% by 2012, a process in which all Government Departments will participate. This target is in support of an EU-wide approach under which the European Commission has set a similar target in relation to EU legislation. Irish Government has decided that all new regulations should be subject to measurement of the administration costs to business with a view to keeping them to the minimum”. High-level Group on Business Regulation, July 2008

8. Administrative costs and Administrative simplification • Administrative costs are defined as costs incurred by businesses in meeting obligations to provide information on their activities or production, either to public authorities or to private parties. • Administrative simplification is concerned with reducing administrative costs and making it easer to deal with government obligations.

9. EU targets administrative costs and burdens A strategy for regulatory simplification was launched by the EU in 2005. The strategy mirrors developments that have taken place in many OECD countries and is well documented in: From Smart Tape to Red Tape: Administrative Simplification in OECD countries, OECD, 2003 The priorities for any simplification programmes are: • Making sure that all written communications between government and citizens are as simple and accessible as possible. • Making sure the cost of administrative requirements (information gathering, complying with regulations) is as low as possible.

10. Day 2 Irish Business & Employers Confederation (IBEC) and Institute of Public Administration (IPA)

11. IBEC Views IBEC supports impact assessment especially when effects on business captured IBEC welcomed RIA but often slow to develop (no central enforcement power) IBEC in favour of being involved at consultation at early stage IBEC says badly drafted regulations increase costs to business IBEC seeks agencies rationalization – too many overlapping agencies. IBEC wants business perspective heard, and IBEC calls for a new social partnership model www.ibec.ie

12. IPA Views The Institute of Public Administration is the Irish national centre for development of best practice in public administration and public management IPA training and education programmes are tailored to the needs of public servants IPA research and publishing services offer an informed voice and forum for discussion and debate on public service issues www.ipa.ie

13. Solutions to the Over-use of Plastic Bags in Ireland ·Solution 1: Take no action ·Solution 2: Voluntary reduction in plastic bag consumption ·Solution 3: Set-up a “Plastic-bag Police Team” to take action, or ·Solution 4: Impose a levy on plastic bags

14. Solution 4 chosen for many good reasons – LEVY Making use of existing structures (existing Tax Collection System and Local Government institutions) Not an “over-bureaucratic” process Public can see evidence of where the levies are being spent Good “back-check” system (from Levies collected and Plastic-bag sales)

15. Levy on Plastic Bags Irish Government introduced levy in March 2002 Levy at 15 cent per plastic bag Pre-levy: 328 bags per person p.a. Post-levy: 21 bags per person p.a. and a decrease of over 95% in plastic bag litter

16. Reinforcing Impact of Levy Use of bags increasing – from 21 (2002) to 30 (2006) Therefore Government decided further levy increase From 15 cent to 22 cent per bag on 1 July 2007 New draft law would enable levy to increase to 70 cent per bag

17. Lessons to be learned Make use of existing structures (e.g.,existing Revenue Collection System and Local Government institutions) Do not have to be “over-bureaucratic” arrangements Let the public can see evidence of where specific taxes are being spent Have ways of doing “back-check” to see how regulations are working

18. Day 3 Department of Justice, including Probation Service and the Gardai (Police) 18

19. Department of Justice and Law Reform Department and its agencies/related bodies have a broad remit and varied workload. Interesting presentation on cycle of work - from government election then programme for government, then 3 year strategic plan (with goals and objectives) then annual business plan. Accompanying this cycle is budget cycle (including the allocation of funds and monitoring) and staff development (PMDS) Internal budget process includes flexible allocations based on priorities and funding Annual output statements link government objectives and Departmental outputs. Also Value-for-money (VFM) support - Why are we doing this? Is it efficient? Is it effective?

20. Probation service The Probation Service plays an important role in helping to reduce the level of crime and to increase public safety by working with offenders to help change their behaviour and make good the harm done by crime It is the lead agency in the assessment and management of offenders in the community It has a budget of €41 million and a staff of 500 Theory is to give offenders a chance Probation is a policy option (or court alternative)

21. GPSU (Garda Professional Standards Unit) GPSU setup under Section 24 of the Garda Síochána Act, 2005 GPSU has responsibilities for addressing performance, effectiveness and efficiency across all levels of policing activity.  GPSU’s establishment is a key part of the ongoing reform of An Garda Síochánain Ireland GPSU’s objective is to ensure that organisational efforts and initiatives are driven strategically GPSU’s objective is also to ensure and that value for money and international best practise in professional, ethical and human rights standards are maintained

22. Garda Strategic Planning “We will further advance law enforcement, crime prevention and community security by continuing structural and service reforms …and through…effective anti-crime policies, the implementation and enforcement of effective and balanced laws and working to ensure visible policing of our communities” (Strategy) Ethos - community policing based on moral authority Service has opened to other nationalities very beneficial Greatest challenge is communicating the strategy and prioritization Evaluating awareness of policy and strategy is critical (measuring) Wide stakeholder consultation in strategy development process Then annual plan, regional plans, divisional plans and district plans Values: Honesty, Accountability, Respect and Professionalism

23. Day 4 Office of Minister for Drugs And Visit to Tallaght 23

24. National Drugs Strategy The first National Drugs Strategy covered 2001-08 Primary focus: heroin problem in Dublin mostly affecting more socially excluded communities. The new Strategy: continuation of much of the current approaches; drugs problem is now more widespread across the country; greater mix of drugs; and polydrug use is the norm among those who misuse drugs.

25. Background Steering Group established by Minister of State Group comprised representatives of the key Government Departments and Agencies responsible for delivering drugs policies in Ireland with the Community and Voluntary Sectors.

26. Consultation Process An extensive Consultation Process was carried out: 15 Public Consultation meetings; relevant Government Departments and Agencies; key sectoral representatives and organisations; and targeted Focus Groups. Joint Oireachtas Committee/Seanad (Parliament)

27. Alcohol and Drugs Issue of combining the strategies for drugs and alcohol was under review for some time; A majority favour a combined approach as: Alcohol is seen as a gateway drug; Addiction issues. Government Decision 31st March 2009: Agreed to include Alcohol in a National Substance Misuse Strategy.

28. National Drugs Strategy 2009-16 Strategic Objective To continue to tackle the harm caused to individuals and society by the misuse of drugs through a concerted focus on the five pillars: Supply reduction; Prevention; Treatment; Rehabilitation; and Research.

29. Day 5 Some Conclusions 29

30. . • What you have heard in the past week has covered many forms of policy formulation,policy delivery and evaluation • Need for good research, good consultation and good preparation • Need for skilled personnel specialising in policy-making and drafting • Policies that are evaluated offer learning experiences 30

31. Monitoring & Evaluation Ireland has developed an effective evaluation system ensuring that both EU projects and domestically-generated projects are monitored • Capital Appraisal Guidelines, Department of Finance, 2005 • Value for Money and Policy Reviews Department of Finance, 2007 31

32. Importance of Training Specialised training is a very important requirement in the successful appraisal, planning and delivery of projects There is need to ensure that officials are properly trained in areas such as procurement, project management, project appraisal and policy analysis External professional advice should be obtained if Ministeries have not got the relevant expertise – and it should be acquired on a “knowledge-transfer” basis 32

33. Key Policy Success Factors Top Level Support: Imperative to have support from Ministers and Secretary Generals Network important that officials from each Department come together to share experiences Advice: Very useful to avail of independent advice and to listen to criticism Training: In Ireland, Civil Service Training and Development Centre organises training courses Communications: All Departments should put as much information as possible in Annual Reports and on websites 33

34. . Thank You Tom Ferris