John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has come before the committee and subsequently we read the Millar report, with which I am sure the witnesses are familiar, which highlight a different view of how the reforms are working or not working. Within the Department, what significance is being given to the Millar report? How is it being analysed? Will the Department read the recommendations and findings and issue its own report, supporting further change or whatever, based on the Millar report, which was substantial?

Ms Ryan indicated the Department is responding to an administrative process. Policy decisions were made but that is a different issue. If the decisions were made and well motivated, the challenge within the Department is to ensure there are no unforeseen consequences and that the changes are analysed and kept under constant review and the reforms as initiated are amended to ensure anomalies are dealt with. Ms Ryan mentioned in her reply that 18,000 were moved from the one-parent family payment between July 2013 and June 2015 to an alternative social welfare payment and a further 25,000 from 2015. Later, she said it would take several years before the impact of the reforms could be assessed but early indications show some positive outcomes and referred to more than 3,000 lone parents.

My concern is that the Department is using global figures rather than a qualitative approach. In other words, I do not expect it can follow every individual but there must be some sort of tracking of individual families that can show who is benefiting. There are always unintended consequences. Somebody could well transition back into the workplace but the cost of child care could mean he or she would be worse off than before. It is that type of analysis that is required in the Department. It is not a matter of policy; it is procedural. The Department needs the types of analysis and information I describe to ensure the policies it is implementing do not have the negative effects about which we have expressed concerns.

I would like a little insight into whether the qualitative analysis and measurement to which I refer, based on the tracking of individuals, even in sample cases, are being carried out to ensure the policies do not have unintended negative consequences. I acknowledge the global figures are available but they do not drill down into what members on this side of the room are encountering in their clinics. We all have examples of people who have come to us who feel they have been negatively affected. I am wondering whether qualitative analysis is feeding into the policy decisions of the Department.

I will not delay the meeting any longer. There were several questions on several topics for Ms Simonetta Ryan. I will now afford her an opportunity to address them, particularly those on the administrative side. We acknowledge the policy is not Ms Ryan's responsibility.