Maeve O'Connell (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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1038. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to report on the work and accomplishments of the data and finance reform projects unit within her Department over the past 24 months. [20822/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department has a number of ongoing projects to maximise the use of data to ensure evidence-informed policy making across its activities. These projects will harness the potential of data for evidence-based decision making, in line with the Civil Service Renewal 2030 commitment to “develop a rigorous, professional, and evidence-informed approach to policy development”.

The remit of the Data and finance reform project (DFRP) unit which was established in summer 2024, is to develop projects that will maximise strategic use of data for policy development.

The key projects being undertaken by this unit of four staff members are as follows:

• to deliver greater data-informed decision making to inform financial policy and to improve targeted advisory support for schools. This project will entail analysis of school’s expenditure data in tandem with data sources from other areas of the Department to better determine key drivers of expenditure across schools. This project is at an early stage.
• to analyse data to inform proposals on modifications to grant payments and allocation of posts across the school system as a result of school secretaries moving on to the Department’s payroll. Work is currently ongoing in this regard.
• to integrate and more effectively use data, including information currently dealt with through the Primary Online Database (POD) and P-POD systems. This project is in the scoping phase.
• to identify current and future data and analysis needs of the Department’s Schools division aligned with the objectives of the Department’s Data Strategy 2024 – 2027. This work will inform planning for future projects.