Written answers
Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Departmental Reviews
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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568. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the current number of live studies, reviews and research undertaken or commissioned by her; and the date by which each study, review and research is scheduled to be completed in tabular form. [9691/21]
Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department currently has seven (7) live studies in progress. Details of these are set out in tabular format as follows.
| Live studies, reviews and research undertaken or commissioned | Expected completion date | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Review of Management Accounting Process. | Q.2 2021 |
| 2. | The Department, on behalf of the Pensions Commission, has engaged KPMG to carry out a number of specific analyses for the Commission. There is a statutory obligation to undertake an Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund every five years. The last Review was based on the position of the Social Insurance Fund as at 31 December 2015. Work on the 2020 review will commence in 2021 but its findings will not be ready in time for the Commission’s reporting deadline. Accordingly, an update will be carried out to take account of developments since 2015 to inform the Commission’s deliberations. | Q.2 2021 |
| 3. | A survey of employers to ascertain their views of the Department’s employer services. | Ongoing |
| 4. | The General Register Office (GRO), which operates under the aegis of my Department, has led an interdepartmental working group to consider how to revise the death registration process to provide for more timely death data and to align our processes with international best practice. The GRO published a consultation document on proposals identified by the working group to improve the timeliness of death registration. | Q.2 2021 |
| 5. | Research Programme on Public Employment Services and Labour Market Activation between the Department of Social Protection & the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). | It is envisaged that the programme will run until the end of 2021, with the possibility of an extension thereafter. |
| 6. | Following a public procurement process in 2020, the ESRI has been awarded the contract for a three year research programme to support the implementation of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025. The research programme in 2021 will likely consist of a technical paper as well as a thematic paper. | Q.4 2021 |
| 7. | An interdepartmental working group is currently established to carry out a revision of the guidance document on determining Employment Status. Officials from my Department, the Revenue Commissioners and the Workplace Relations Commission are producing a document which updates and supersedes the previous “Code of Practice for Determining Employment or Self-Employment Status of Individuals”, taking account of developments in legislation, case law and labour market practices. | Feedback from ICTU and IBEC was incorporated in Q.4 2020, with a view to publication by the end of Q.1 2021, subject to agreement. |
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