Ms Yvonne O'Sullivan:

I am not necessarily an expert in this area and it is not easily identifiable like equality budgeting in Scotland. In Finland a specific committee is dedicated not only to finance and education but also to compliance with human rights standards. If social impact assessments are first carried out by each Department, they should be provided for the relevant committee to be debated, not only by committee members but also by the wider public and relevant stakeholders. We stated in our submission that the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission should play a central role in ensuring human rights standards were protected in budgetary decisions. In Scotland, when the budget is being drafted, alongside it is the equality impact assessment which is publicly debated in its advisory grouping dedicated to equality budgeting in the Scottish Parliament. It is such a closed process here that any step toward opening it up would be very welcome.