Ms Meaghan Carmody:

We see the deficiencies in it as being twofold. The CSO already has a lot of data as the Deputy pointed out. It is largely based on the usual categories of age and geographical location, but we need to be looking at disaggregated data based on the international dimensions of discrimination, for example gender - as the Deputy pointed out - children, refugees, migrants and all the categories the Chair mentioned earlier. We understand it is a tall order. We know from our engagement with the CSO that it is does not have the resources to do that level of disaggregated data collection. Without that baseline measurement of where we are and who we are reaching, it is difficult to ascertain what targets should be and show progress and trends.

Disability is another one. There are various other categories we point out in our report. That is what we need to do. We know it is challenging, but the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, can also help with this. It also needs significant resourcing to be able to align its human rights' data collection with the SDGs in order that we are not reinventing the wheel. There are two very strong institutions at our disposal, but they are currently not aligned for the collection of SDG-relevant disaggregated data. That is the first point.

The second point is about the communication of these data. The Deputy alluded to the fact that is quite a complex website. The CSO website on the SDGs is very layered. You need to do a lot of digging to get basic answers regarding how we are doing on specific SDG targets. This is not clear and it is not all in one place. Infographics are developed every few years, but some of the data are very old. There is a figure from 2012 in one of the infographics. We have a question about where this is being publicised to the public. How is it getting out there to people? How do people know about how we are doing on these SDG targets and, importantly, about what progress is being made in terms of the trends? There is a second website that is often cited by the CSO, which is geohive.ie. It is often cited to us as a very useful SDG resource. Yet, it has been described as being for high-level people, for people who are essentially statisticians, it is very difficult to navigate. You cannot find answers to simple questions, such as how we are doing on each SDG target. Those are the two main issues with the CSO at the moment.