Written answers

Thursday, 9 March 2017

Department of Social Protection

Poverty Impact Assessment

Photo of Denise MitchellDenise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

154. To ask the Minister for Social Protection to outline the circumstances under which a poverty impact assessment is undertaken; the number that have been undertaken in the past four years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12451/17]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The National Action Plan for Social Inclusion identifies poverty impact assessment (PIA) as being an important implementing and monitoring mechanism for poverty reduction. PIA is the process by which government departments, local authorities and State agencies assess policies and programmes at design, implementation and review stages in relation to the likely impact that they will have or have had on poverty and on inequalities which are likely to lead to poverty, with a view to poverty reduction.

In line with this requirement, the Cabinet Handbook states that memoranda for Government involving significant policy proposals should "indicate clearly the impact of the proposal on groups in poverty or at risk of falling into poverty". Poverty Impact Assessment is also fully embedded in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) process, as per Department of An Taoiseach Revised RIA Guidelines 2009.

It is the responsibility of individual government departments and other bodies developing policy to undertake a poverty impact assessment in adherence with official guidelines. The Guidelines for Poverty Impact Assessment 2008 and templates for process requirements are available on the Department’s website at: www.welfare.ie/en/downloads/PIAGuidelines.pdf.

The Government decided in 2012 to incorporate PIA into an integrated social impact assessment (SIA) in order to support the implementation of the national social target for poverty reduction and to ensure greater policy coordination in the social sphere. SIA is an evidence-based methodology which estimates the likely distributive effects of policies on household incomes, families, poverty and access to employment. My Department undertakes rigorous and extensive ex-ante and ex-post SIAs of the main welfare and direct tax budgetary policies using the ESRI’s tax/benefit micro simulation model, SWITCH. The Department has published ex-post SIAs of the main welfare and direct tax measures in annual budgets, since Budget 2013. They are available on the Department’s website at: www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Examples-.aspx.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.