Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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122. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will address matters raised by an organisation (details supplied) in relation to Budget 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40128/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The ongoing work regarding Equality Budgeting in Ireland 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’. The National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020 also contains a related commitment.

A pilot programme of equality budgeting was introduced for the 2018 budgetary cycle, anchored in the existing performance budgeting framework. The intention is to embed an equality perspective throughout the budgetary process with a whole of year budgetary focus; equality budgeting is not to be seen as something separate from the budget process. For this first cycle of equality budgeting, a number of diverse policy areas were selected with associated objectives and indicators published in the Revised Estimates Volume (REV) 2018 in December last. Progress towards achieving these targets was reported on in the Public Service Performance Report 2017, published in April.

Learnings from the pilot approach are being used to expand the initiative to other expenditure programmes and equality dimensions for the 2019 budgetary cycle. To further guide the roll-out of equality budgeting an Equality Budgeting Expert Advisory Group has been established of which the National Women’s Council are a member. This group is comprised of a broad range of relevant stakeholders and policy experts to provide advice on the most effective way to advance equality budgeting policy and progress the initiative. I expect to return to the question of Equality Budgeting in the broad context of Budget 2019 and in the Revised Estimates for 2019, including in light of the matters which the Deputy has highlighted.