Comment: The recent controversy over statutory rape law raises issues that go way beyond the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006.

In particular, there is the issue of Government departments ensuring that legislation is as up to date as possible while reflecting current issues of public concern.

We need good laws and regulations to help to protect citizens' rights, promote a safer society and ensure more confidence in goods and services. Regulations are important in achieving economic and social goals in Ireland today.

But all regulations involve costs, and that is where a relatively new mechanism, called regulatory impact analysis (RIA), is relevant.

As the name suggests, it is a technique used to help produce better regulations at minimum cost. The Government decided last June that the RIA process should be used to evaluate all new regulations in all Government departments and offices. Regulations include any laws (or other official rules) that affect people and businesses.

A central feature of the new process is that assessments must go to Cabinet before Government takes final decisions on new regulations. In future, RIAs are to be published and available on the websites of Government departments and offices. Some State organisations have already published RIAs. The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority has published an RIA on the Consumer Protection Code, and Forfás has published one on a proposed EU chemical policy.

As the public's awareness of RIAs grows, there will be an increasing demand to see evidence of this new process being applied.

If well applied, RIA has an important role to play in facilitating the continuing development of a competitive economy. In this regard, the Small Business Forum recently argued that RIA should be used to review regulations, over a seven-year period, with the objective of amending existing regulations and thereby reducing the burden of compliance.

Under the new system, any proposals for new regulations, or significant changes in existing regulations, have to be analysed fully. This follows a series of RIA pilot studies, undertaken during 2004 and 2005, on the Medical Practitioners' Bill, the Coroners' Bill, the Export Control Bill, betting duty regulations and a draft EU groundwater directive.

One of the objectives of the new general RIA scheme is to reduce unnecessary regulations. While RIA is relatively new in Ireland, it has already gained widespread acceptance throughout the EU.

In essence, RIA calls for Government departments to apply the process whenever new regulations are proposed. This requires them to assess a range of alternatives, measure the costs and benefits of different options, undertake consultation with interested parties and recommend a "best option".

Taken together, these elements provide a best practice approach to regulation. Of course, regulation may not always be the best option. Departments are expected to see if they actually need specific regulations, or whether there are alternative ways of achieving their objectives.

RIA calls for a structured approach to decision-making. It is the intention that Government departments move away from the traditional "regulate first" approach and instead ensure the evaluation of different options in advance of decisions being taken.

Consultation is a crucial part of the process. Under RIA, decisions will need to be based on proposals that have been fully evaluated, right through to the likely costs of compliance and enforcement. In the final analysis, new regulations should only be given the "green light" where the benefits of regulation clearly justify their costs.

There is also an EU dimension. Clearly, there is a need to ensure that national RIA policy is in harmony with the EU regulatory process. Ireland's concern is how to negotiate and implement EU directives so as to ensure that Ireland's interests are taken into account.

There is no doubt that RIA can bring tangible benefits by identifying the likely impact of EU proposals on Ireland on a timely basis. In particular, it can highlight national impacts that are not picked up by the EU Commission's impact assessments, which focus on the impact on the overall union.

On a wider front, RIA provides a mechanism for Ireland and other EU member states to contribute to the regulatory agenda, which is of growing importance at EU level.

Given that modern European governments need regulation, in turn they also need hard evidence in terms of the likely burden of compliance on the citizen and business, especially where EU regulations are concerned.

Government departments get plenty of assistance in terms of training courses and an excellent range of guidelines published by the Department of the Taoiseach at www.betterregulation.ie.

There is no doubt that this new system is a challenge for public servants. However, the challenge is not insurmountable. The reality is that many elements of the process will already be part of existing practices, although they may be applied in a less structured way. The more structured RIA system can help to improve the quality of decision-making while also improving openness, accountability and public involvement.

It is now a matter for Government departments to demonstrate that the new system is being fully applied.

Tom Ferris is a consultant economist specialising in regulation. He previously worked at the Department of Transport.