Ms Siobhan Barron:

I thank the Chairman and members for their questions. On outcomes and outcome indicators, a large part of our role in the National Disability Authority is to measure the outcomes and impacts of policies as well as their outputs. Strategies such as the national disability strategy and the comprehensive employment strategy factor in specific timeframes, targets and responsibilities. They are sometimes a little loose in terms of an exact timeframe and an activity may be described as ongoing but even in such a case we measure it against what is happening. The National Disability Authority produces an assessment report, usually on an annual basis, for the relevant monitoring committees for the national disability strategy and the comprehensive employment strategy. We recently submitted an analysis to the latter committee. That is one form of analysis but it can tend to measure outputs.

Overall outcomes involve measuring the difference an action has made in the lives of those with disabilities. One can provide more accessible buses on a route but if people do not use them to travel, it does not make much of a difference in their lives. Our role is also to consider how that can be monitored at the higher level of outcomes. We often have to rely on data reported overall from the Central Statistics Office because such data is robust and collected at frequent intervals, which means it can be measured over a period of time. However, that can also impact the frequency at which one can measure such outcomes.

Along with the HSE, we have devised a monitoring framework specific to disability services and the supports in that regard. It is built on an area of nine outcomes and the impact on people's lives in terms of living in the community, friendships, being able to get out and about and how one measures that at a personal level as well as overall. That is a work in progress in terms of how it will be implemented and transport will be a key aspect thereof.

There is a challenge in terms of the quality of data when measuring outcomes at the highest level because people measure and report different things. Different organisations are measuring apples and oranges. One is very reliant on a very good data source, which is dependent on the questions asked, what is recorded and how the information is categorised.