Central Bank Of Ireland Reviews Public Consultation Framework

The Central Bank of Ireland (the Central Bank) has recently opened a public consultation (CP170) seeking views from stakeholders and interested members of the public on its approach to regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) and public consultations.

The launch of this consultation forms part of the Central Bank’s efforts to improve the efficacy and efficiency of its regulatory activities. It builds on the Central Bank’s recently published ‘Our Approach to Supervision’ document (as discussed in our article here).

Background

CP170 has been launched with a view to ensuring that the Central Bank’s regulatory processes support robust, evidence-based decision-making, are proportionate to the issues addressed, are transparent and accessible, and are reflective of and informed by the perspectives of stakeholders. To this end, CP170 proposes a more structured and transparent articulation of how the Central Bank will consider impacts when exercising domestic discretion as part of RIAs, as well as proposing an approach to public consultations that is more accessible, inclusive, and effective.

Approach to Regulatory Impact Assessments

RIAs are tools used by the Central Bank to assess the potential impact of proposed regulations or policies. CP170 sets out a ‘Draft Statement of Approach to RIA’, which includes a refreshed statement of the purposes, scope, and key components of RIAs, including: proportionality assessments, clear definitions of regulatory problems, statements of the baseline against which proposals are to be assessed, assessments of the potential impacts of regulatory proposals, and the range of evidence sources to be used.

The Central Bank also undertakes to ensure that RIAs are conducted promptly, that results are communicated appropriately and proportionately, and that monitoring and review activities are carried out to assess the effectiveness of any interventions implemented.

Draft Consultation Approach

In addition to the RIA framework proposals, CP170 also sets out a refreshed approach to the Central Bank’s public consultations.

Public consultations are a core part of the Central Bank’s policy development and evidence-gathering processes. The Draft Consultation Approach outlines revised design principles, an updated statement of when the Central Bank will consult with stakeholders, and a commitment to ensuring consultations are conducted in an accessible and transparent manner.

More practically, the refreshed approach proposes new timelines for consultations—which will generally be 12 weeks in duration, unless a shorter period is appropriate—and sets out principles for publishing submissions to and results of consultations.

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

The draft statements of approach set out in CP170 are positive signals of the Central Bank’s evolving approach to stakeholder engagement.

In particular, they signal that going forward, RIAs and public consultations will:

• operate in a more coherent and integrated way;
• benefit from standardised, predictable timelines;
• contain consistent frameworks for analysing submissions and producing feedback; and
• have more scope to include evidence-based submissions on costs and operational impacts from stakeholders.

The deadline for submissions is 30 September 2026, which can be made via online submission form, by email, or in writing.

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