Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 March 2019
45. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if consideration will be given to disability proofing the next budget and all budgets thereafter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7147/19]
View answerFollowing a commitment in A Programme for a Partnership Government to ‘develop the process of budget and policy proofing as a means of advancing equality, reducing poverty and strengthening economic and social rights’ an Equality Budgeting pilot was implemented for the 2018 budgetary cycle. The approach I have taken in introducing Equality Budgeting is that equality budgeting is to be integrated into the existing budgetary process. Therefore, equality budgeting is contained within the existing performance budgeting framework and utilises the processes already in place.
The measures identified in the pilot related mainly to gender equality but as I outlined in my budget statement in October equality budgeting remains a priority for the coming year and I am therefore expanding the programme to further develop the gender budgeting elements, and to broaden its scope to other dimensions of equality including poverty, socioeconomic inequality and disability. This expansion is being supported by an Equality Budgeting Expert Advisory Group which brings expert knowledge on how best to progress this important work. This group is comprised of expert stakeholders such as the National Women’s Council of Ireland, IHREC, NESC, the ESRI and a number of Government Departments.
The Revised Estimates Volume 2019 (REV), published last December, includes performance information across all Government Departments. To provide greater visibility on the many areas of spend that specifically address inequality, the REV includes a reference guide that collates performance indicators that directly relate to areas of equality. These indicators are classified across nine themes taking into account the various Government strategies in place to guide policy development in the area of equality, including the National Disability Inclusion Strategy.
