Regulation is costing Irish business €4 billion per annum, of which at least €600 million is accounted for by unnecessary "red tape", Fine Gael has said.
The party's spokesman on enterprise, trade and employment, Phil Hogan, believes that regulation - which he says costs small firms some 4 per cent of their turnover - can be cut by as much as a quarter over the next five years. In a report for the Oireachtas Enterprise Committee, he sets out a number of proposals designed to reduce the regulatory burden on companies.
"While the establishment of new regulatory agencies has been seen as positive and an indication of progress in key areas, the experience is not altogether beneficial," Mr Hogan said.
"The level of regulation in Ireland and Europe far exceeds that of America and the Far East, and can make it much more expensive to do business here."
He noted that it takes an average of four days and 1 per cent of gross national income to set up a business in the US. In Europe, it takes 38 days and 12.2 per cent of gross national income.
Among the recommendations in Mr Hogan's report is the establishment of an independent review group to examine the effectiveness of all the regulatory agencies set up since the 1990s.
He suggests all regulators should be issued with a code of practice, that they meet under the auspices of the National Competitiveness Council to assess their impact on the economy and that they should be accountable to a relevant Oireachtas committee.
