Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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129. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the work being undertaken by his Department in developing a well-being framework; what legislative underpinning might be required to meaningfully integrate the framework into Ireland’s budgetary cycle; if, in that context, his Department is aware of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act in Wales that has underpinned the application of the Welsh well-being framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10264/23]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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From 2022, the Government has committed to featuring the Well-being Framework within the budgetary process.  This follows from a commitment in the Programme for Government – Our Shared Future to use a well-being perspective to inform budgetary priorities as a complement to existing economic measurement tools.  This commitment regarding the budgetary process is part of a wider undertaking to develop a set of indices to create a holistic view of how Irish society is faring and utilise this in a systematic way across government policy making.

In December 2022, my Department published a working paper that sets out an approach to integrating the Well-being Framework into Ireland’s budgetary cycle.While what is set out in the working paper draws on the experience in other countries, including that of Wales and the approach they have taken with the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, it seeks to do so in a way that is relevant to an Irish budgetary context.  As such, rather than focusing on legislation, the overall approach seeks to introduce a well-being perspective at key points in the existing budgetary process and maximise the degree to which this improves policymaking and outcomes through integration with existing budgetary structures.

In June 2022, for the first time, a high-level analysis of the Well-being Dashboard prepared by officials in the Department of the Taoiseach was published and subsequently featured in the Summer Economic Statement.  

On Budget Day, the Department of Finance published Budget 2023: Beyond GDP - Quality of Life Assessment that included an updated version of the dashboard and analysis, and a review of tax policy changes in recent years that related to the Income & Wealth and Environment, Climate & Biodiversity dimensions. 

In 2021 and 2022, the Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform chaired breakout sessions at the National Economic Dialogue that were informed by a well-being perspective.  In 2022, the breakout session considered sustainable public expenditure in the context of the Well-being Framework’s vision of “enabling all our people to live fulfilled lives now and into the future”.  Participants were asked to consider what might be encompassed by the notion of “fulfilled lives” and the policy issues or challenges that should be prioritised in order to achieve such a vision by 2030.  Participants were also asked to consider how public policy might be able to provide opportunities for those whose abilities to progress and change their lives have been hindered by factors such as poverty and deprivation. 

The Spending Review process offers an opportunity to develop and present policy analysis that applies a well-being perspective to existing public policies and programmes.  In particular, a well-being perspective provides an opportunity to reflect on and examine the impact of public policy on people’s lives.  This is in keeping with the Spending Review’s focus on critically assessing policy and programmes in terms of their efficiency and effectiveness, sustainability and ongoing rationale.