Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is always a good debate when we are looking into the future and not always looking at the past and what was not done right. I get a sense that people want to develop new pastures and new ground. I welcome the contributions in that regard. An overarching thing that I have learned in my position, having met with officials from the CSO, is that they value their independence. That independence allows them to do and make work plans. That does not mean that they construct the material. They have said that they are interested in meeting with stakeholders. I am sure that they are listening to this debate today and what Deputies have had to say. Maybe there are other areas that we could look at.

Deputy Broughan advocated what is happening outside the CSO, for example, the benefits of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight and its good work, which Deputy Ryan alluded to, which is a consequence of new politics in this House. There is also the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council which the former Minister, Deputy Howlin, would be very familiar with as well. There are the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, and the Parliamentary Budget Office, as well as civil society. Deputy Broughan mentioned Social Justice Ireland and the good work that it does. We have many bodies, think-tanks, statisticians and people doing analysis. It is up to the Government to govern and make decisions on the back of that. That was the fundamental basis for the development of the ten year capital programme, the 2040 plan - statistics, where people will be living, where industries will be, where roads and railways are needed and where interconnectivity is. It is working towards the future. Deputy Burton talked about history lessons and certain kinds of reality and measurements relating to the medical card. That is something that can be explored. I am sure the CSO would have no issue with that. Deputy Ryan talked about sitting down with the CSO. I encourage everybody in this House to sit down with it. It is available and happy to do so.

Given the time constraints that we all have here with the firefighting work that we do, we should still endeavour to have that time set aside to look at proactive work. The National Statistics Board is doing much of the work that there is a suggestion to do within primary legislation. Will there be overlap, cross-pollination and is it necessary to look at redeveloping a primary legislative wheel within legislation that is primarily independent? With regard to Deputy Cassells' issues, he had a caveat. He talked about protecting the independence and supporting what Deputy Howlin was bringing forward, but he was also talking about transport and the needs of transportation for his own constituency in County Meath with increased population. We have all the data relating to or through our census and it is that data which the CSO analyses and about which it is very circumspect.

I believe that it is always important to have the debate on this and to talk about doing new things in a new way. In a week when we were talking about blurred lines relating to independence and independence of government, it is a little ironic that we are here having a debate where we have a completely independent Secretary General and CSO and are looking at deviating from that independence in some way. That being said, I am not being mischievous about that. I am just thinking of all the different inputs here. It reminds me of a fellow from my own neck of the woods. Mar a deir an fear seo, nuair atá achan rud ráite agus é déanta, tá i bhfad níos mó ráite ná mar atá déanta. When all is said and done, there is much more said than done. Sometimes we are good at talking the talk in this House but there is the matter of implementation. We have statisticians and people in the requisite offices to do the work. They will not be looking to next October, February or the following October to another general election, or maybe even in two to three years' time-----

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