Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 July 2014
201. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in view of the disproportionate impact economic policies are having on disadvantaged groups, if he will consider the introduction of an equality budgeting approach to policy making; and if he will ensure that each Department engages in an agreed system of equality proofing prior to budget 2015. [28123/14]
View answerWith regard to recent Budgets, while the primary objective has been to reduce the deficit and return stability to the public finances, it has been of vital importance to the Government to spread the burden of adjustments in as fair and as equitable a manner as possible whilst also seeking to minimise any negative impact on economic growth.
The Government recognises that expenditure on social supports has an important impact on stabilising our domestic economy through supporting the overall demand for goods and services. Over 80% of gross current government expenditure is spent on Health, Education and Social Protection supports. These are areas of high priority for Government, however, given the proportion of total expenditure that they make up, it has been necessary that these areas are also affected by expenditure reductions as we simply could not have achieved the savings required to adhere to our fiscal targets otherwise.
All Ministers are responsible for assessing policy proposals in their areas and considerations of equality form an important component of budgetary discussions by Government. When making Government decisions on Budget matters, the Government is very much aware of issues such as gender equality, persons experiencing or at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and people with disabilities.
Expenditure measures and policy proposals are now being submitted to my Department as part of the second Comprehensive Review of Expenditure. The final proposals will be carefully considered by Government in advance of finalizing the 2015 Estimates and on Budget day, the Government will publish illustrative cases showing the effect of major changes in revenue and certain social welfare payments.
