Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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33. To ask the Taoiseach his views of the function and purpose of public consultation processes. [22098/23]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Effective public consultation allows Government to make informed decisions on matters of policy, to improve the delivery of public services, and to improve the accountability of public bodies.

As is set out in the guidelines on public consultations produced by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, there are three general principles that should underpin such work:

·consultation with the public must be genuine and timely, leading to greater understanding by all involved of the consequences of proceeding with a particular policy or legislative proposal;

·consultation should be targeted at, and easily accessible to, those with a clear interest in the policy in question; and

·departments and agencies should make systematic efforts to ensure that interested parties have the opportunity to take part in open consultations at all stages of policy development on significant policy, services and legislative matters.