Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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93. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the paper "Equality Budgeting - Proposed Next Steps in Ireland" is the document he referred to in his budget 2018 speech when he spoke of the development of a policy document which was published on 13 October 2017; if this paper is Government policy; the timeframe for its implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44262/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The paper 'Equality Budgeting: Proposed Next Steps in Ireland' was published alongside Budget 2018. The paper is the policy document which provides an overview of the concept of equality budgeting, the progress made in integrating equality budgeting into expenditure management and the estimates process, and the proposed next steps for the introduction of equality budgeting in Ireland. The paper sets out the pilot approach that will be adopted for gender budgeting in the Budget 2018 budgetary cycle anchored in the performance budgeting framework. The next step in this process will be the publication of objectives and indicators for the pilot policy areas in the Revised Estimates Volume in December.

The paper follows the Programme for a Partnership Government commitment to develop the process of budget and policy proofing as a means of advancing equality, reducing poverty and strengthening economic and social rights. This is also a commitment that has been included in the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020.