Mr. Ronnie Downes:

I thank Deputy Farrell for those comments. Regarding equality budgeting in general, it was introduced in 2017-2018 on a pilot basis. We invited the OECD to come and take a critical look at what the experience of the project was in its initial stages and to help us set a direction for the future to make sure it would have an impact. We were hoping, and were quite happy, that the OECD report would give us the critical feedback we wanted to help us stay on track. The point it made about the lack of an overarching framework within which equality goals can be articulated is one we can acknowledge.

One of the ways that is being addressed and progressed is in the context of the work already under way to develop a national well-being framework. The national well-being framework is at a reasonably advanced stage. It is being spearheaded by our colleagues in the Department of the Taoiseach, with us in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, DPER, and the Department of Finance sharing leadership of that agenda, but it is taking place on a whole-of-government, cross-departmental basis. Part of the objective of that exercise, as signalled in the programme for Government, is to develop a set of indicators which can serve multiple purposes. One of those purposes, for example, is to develop an alternative set of economic and social indicators to see whether Ireland is making progress in improving the lives of our citizens, including alternatives to GNP and so on. It can also play a more systematic role in providing the overarching framework of recognisable well-being goals and objectives. Each of those goals and objectives, from our point of view and part of the role DPER plays in this, is to make sure the well-being framework can serve that purpose as an overarching framework for performance budgeting, but also to integrate those equality dimensions within each of those well-being indicators so that it will also serve those purposes.