Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy O'Callaghan. Securing value for money is an ongoing priority for the Government. It is at the heart of all decision-making at every stage of policy or programme lifecycles. It is about securing the efficient and effective use of public resources and improving living standards and infrastructure for the people of our country. Policy analysis is a core component of public expenditure management and value for money frameworks.

A wide range of policy and expenditure analysis is undertaken and published by Departments annually. These can take the form of staff papers, focused policy assessments, spending reviews and analytical notes, among others. My Department plays a central role in this process by regularly analysing expenditure trends and policies. Alongside this, individual Departments have responsibility for evaluating the efficiency and impact of their own programmes and policies. Since 2024, approximately 59 papers have been published by Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service, IGEES, staff across government. During 2025, it produced policy analysis and expenditure evaluations on a broad range of topics, including disability services, social housing, migration and labour market trends, statutory sick leave, well-being, education, transport and youth participation. This analytical research has continued to play a key role in supporting evidence-based policymaking.

In addition, my Department continues to ensure evidence and analysis is at the centre of policymaking within the budgetary process. This is communicated through a range of publications including the annual expenditure report and the public service performance report, as well as our expenditure and policy evaluation papers across a range of topics.

In preparation for budget 2026, my Department undertook several pieces of analysis to support resource allocation. The public service performance report was published in June and it detailed how Departments performed against targets set in the Revised Estimates process. We published the national development plan review in July. We spoke about that previously. Importantly, we published the medium-term expenditure framework in September. This is a multiyear public expenditure planning exercise which supports assessment of the resource implications of future policy decisions over the period from 2025 to 2030.

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