Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Department does not have figures for the special assignee relief programme, but it is extending it. However, I will put that to one side. The issue has to do with equality proofing which is done in other jurisdictions; therefore, there is a template available. I do not want the Department to spend hundreds of thousands of euro on cost-benefit analyses or equality impact assessments, but there is a template there that can be used. It can follow best practice. It is important to spell out how budgets affect different sections of society.

We talk about facts and figures, deficit reduction and GDP growth, yet there is not enough of a focus on the individuals affected. They are not just digits on a computer screen. They are genuine people, some of whom are impacted on more favourably than others. This type of analysis would enable us to spell out clearly whether there was a basket of proposals that on their own were worthy of inclusion in a budget and, when combined, would have an adverse impact on, for example, women or the disabled or those on low incomes.

I appreciate and welcome what the Minister is saying in terms of a cost-benefit analysis. Last night we passed Second Stage of the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013. I have not seen any publication analysing how that tax will impact on the 180,000 in mortgage distress, even though it is the largest taxation measure the Minister has introduced this year. He said in parliamentary replies that he had taken this on board. I would love to see his documentation on how the people concerned are expected to pay property tax, given that they have not been able to pay their bank for the past 90 or 180 days, or even the past year. I would love to see the Minister's assessment. That is different from this issue which is about equality proofing which is done in other jurisdictions. If the Northern Ireland Assembly can do it, there is no reason we cannot do it. The Assembly introduced it because of discrimination as a result of one-party rule in the North. It provided for equality proofing in the legislation stemming from the Good Friday Agreement. All Sinn Féin Ministers send their departmental estimates for independent equality proofing and all Departments in the Northern Ireland Executive must comply with section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. It is completely different from what we have here. The Executive publishes its legislative proposals which are then sent for independent assessment and if they are okay, they will be passed. We need to be more mature when it comes to budgetary decisions. I know the European Union is forcing us to move in that direction, but this would help us in that regard.

I agree with the Minister on undertaking a cost-benefit analysis of every single line or measure included in the Bill, but that is not what this is about. It is about having a State document stating this is how the budget will impact on individuals. The stuff included at the back of the budget book is helpful, but it does not take into account all of the budgetary measures. It makes a good stab at dealing with some of them, but it does not take into account all of the other measures contained in the budget. One should have a basket of indicators; look at gender and those on low incomes, as well as other equality indicators such as disadvantage and disability. One should look at how the overall budget impacts on these sectors and then publish a report.