Mr. John Kinnane:

As the Deputy noted, the Department of the Taoiseach has been leading on the work on the well-being framework. The initial report set out the well-being dimensions that we will use for Ireland. A range of 42 indicators are available on the Central Statistics Office, CSO, dashboard. With regard to our work with the line Departments - this ties into the comments made by Ms O’Loughlin - within the overall performance budgeting framework we need to see how we can utilise the well-being framework so that there will be policies within particular Departments that will impact on a particular dimension of well-being. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Education and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage may all have policies that are impacting on a particular dimension of the well-being framework and may have the ability to move the indicators through the performance budgeting framework project.

What we are seeking to do in the project in which we are involved is to create better linkages across the performance budgeting framework, so that as policies are being developed in particular Departments, those linkages between the Departments are clear and it is also clear how they are improving well-being. We have been involved in looking at certain Departments and trying to map out their policies to see how they fit with the well-being dimensions and with the various indicators. The idea would be that over time, as we develop the performance report and also the performance metrics in the Revised Estimates Volume, we would be able to match those with the dimensions and indicators in the national framework.