Mr. Kieran Culhane:

As Ms O'Loughlin mentioned the Central Statistics Office, CSO, did an equality data audit in 2020 which was aimed at the public sector and the data sets out there, and what variables were available to allow this aggregation on the grounds of the dimensions of equality. For this group on gender 60% of the data sets we looked at were disaggregated or could be disaggregated by sex or gender. The one set that was not related to operational data sets that it probably may not be suitable for. It is an area with potential for more data if people want to analyse it. Our equality data audit that was not completed is a live document we did in 2020. It is on the CSO website for researchers and policy makers to look at. If there are other data sets we allow people to add to it and to tell us of other data sets that could be included and the breakdown of coverage of the dimensions on those data sets. Ms O'Loughlin also mentioned our national equality data strategy. We put together a working group with the CSO and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. That produced a document that put in place a strategic approach to improve the collection, use and dissemination of equality data across the public sector. We hope to have the strategy in place for 2023. It will provide a general approach for identifying current gaps in equality data and how to fill those gaps as well as develop standard practices and classifications that can be used across the public sector.