Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not know where to begin. Clearly, we are not opposed to equality. We are in favour of trying to get everyone in this country back into employment, thereby reducing the burden of tax on work. We have increased the minimum wage and we have tried to support people through the social welfare system during a number of difficult years. I imagine we are going to have many such debates in the coming weeks and months, but Deputy Doherty's rhetoric does not stand up to any scrutiny and I look forward to debating these issues with him.

We need to be careful when using terms like progressive and regressive. Members of the House in 2010 would have been able to produce the report of an independent think tank suggesting that the budget in 2010 was progressive. That budget introduced the universal social charge and cut all social welfare benefits, including the blind pension, payments to people with disabilities and payments to children. If that is the definition of a progressive budget, then Deputy Doherty should be careful when he throws around such terms.

As I have outlined, the reason we are not accepting this amendment is that there is a significant amount of the information in the public domain. At some point I would be interested in hearing the views of Deputies in respect of the social impact assessment that has been built up in recent years. The Department of Social Protection website provides significant information that can inform all of us in the development of our policies.

My next point does not relate to the Government but to our budgetary process in general. There has been recognition in the past of the good practice carried out in this country. Good practice and social impact assessment at European level has been identified in a number of reports. The Evaluation Partnership and the Centre for European Policy Studies produced a report in 2010 which indicated that Ireland is well-advanced compared with peer countries in Europe in the use and, more important, in the practice of social impact assessments.

While I do not dispute that the country, governments and the Oireachtas can always do better - I take those valid points - the amendment Deputy Doherty has tabled is not necessary. In fact, some of the information that he is requiring to be published within three months of the passing of this Act is already published today and is available on websites for all our citizens to see.

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