Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

288. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the details of the social impact assessments carried out by his Department and public bodies and agencies under his remit since 1 January 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37298/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Social Impact Assessments (SIAs) are an analytical framework that are designed to examine the demographic profile of public services users, and how they are impacted by budgetary policy decisions. The framework complements existing budgetary impact assessment exercises conducted by my Department and the Departments of Finance, Employment Affairs and Social Protection and externally by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).  

Social Impact Assessments can be quantitative, measuring the change in incomes as a result of policy, or qualitative, offering a description of how policies affect households’ financial positions.  Within the SIA framework, households may be broken down into different groups based on income, economic status, household composition and age.

My Department has been involved in the development of 20 papers published under the Social Impact Assessment framework since 2016, spanning a number of policy areas including health, education, childcare, the labour market and the environment.  The details of these papers are set out in the table below.  In relation to the bodies under the aegis of my Department, no social impact assessments have been conducted during the specified timeframe.

Additional detail on Social Impact Assessments and the SIA framework can be found at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/615fe5-social-impact-assessment-framework/