Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This recommendation relates to the potential for ensuring budget 2019 is gender-proofed, equality-proofed and accompanied by an equality statement. I recognise that progress has been made in this area. I am making this proposal again now because we did not have an opportunity to debate it fully on Committee Stage. I am disappointed that budget 2018 does not deliver on the Government's commitment, as set out in the programme for Government, to gender-proofing, equality-proofing and accompanying equality statements. I hope the Minister of State will assure me that we will have equality-proofing and gender-proofing of budget 2019.

I have read a document that was produced on 10 December last in Scotland. This intensive and detailed analysis makes the most of equality and human rights levers and looks at the draft budget for 2018-2019. On the same day that the budget is published there, an equality statement is produced that indicates how equality issues have been considered in the budgetary decisions on how the State's finances are to be directed and gathered in the year ahead.

I welcome the publication of the Minister's policy paper, Equality Budgeting: Proposed Next Steps in Ireland. It is a very constructive document. I acknowledge that officials in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have worked and are working on this area. I think the policy paper is positive. I hope the Minister of State will give us an indication of how he envisages that the policy paper and its recommendations will be put into practice over the year ahead as we consider and evaluate budget 2018 and prepare for budget 2019. I believe the potential exists for a focused approach to equality budgeting in the 2019 budgetary cycle.

A couple of issues were highlighted in the Department's own policy paper or staff working paper.The first is the importance of having data disaggregated by gender available to Departments. I have asked the Minister to explain how he intends to ensure these data gaps are addressed. A second issue highlighted in the paper was the need for Departments to set specific and measurable objectives on how they can achieve equality in their respective areas and link this to the tracking of the budget and proposals for budget 2019.

I urge the Minister to ensure the gender and equality pilot programme is advanced across as many Departments as possible. I ask the Minister of State to indicate the number of Departments in which the pilot project will be advanced in the coming year. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform must provide sufficient resources and capacity to Departments to drive forward the process of gender budgeting.

My final appeal relates to a highly constructive approach that does not yet feature in the staff working paper. In Scotland, the equality budget advisory group, or EBAG as it is known, is a key pillar in the budgetary process. It means that an advisory group with expert advisers, including representatives of women's organisations, equality bodies and key academics, works alongside the relevant committee and the Department and its officials. Is the Minister considering the introduction of a similar advisory group as part of the equality budgeting process?