Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 May 2018
2. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way in which he is building capacity within the Civil Service and the public service and ensuring access to adequate information in pursuit of developing policy proofing within the budgetary process as a means of advancing equality as outlined in the public service report 2017. [21726/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraHow is the Minister building capacity within the Civil Service and the public service to ensure there is access to adequate information to pursue equality proofing in future budgets as outlined by the Government in the public service report for 2017?
The ongoing work on equality budgeting in Ireland follows the 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". Following this programme for Government commitment and in order to facilitate a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of budget measures on household living standards, my Department has undertaken initial work in the area of social impact assessment. The social impact assessment framework is defined as an evidence-based methodology which attempts to assess the impact of policy on households' financial positions. The objective of the framework is to broaden the scope of current practice to take account not only of tax and social welfare measures but also of how changes in public expenditure policy can impact on household outcomes and living standards. By doing so it may in the future be possible to compare the distributional impact of changes to various types of public service spending and the implications for household outcomes.
Following the announcement on budget day in October 2017, alongside the publication of the paper Equality Budgeting: Proposed Next Steps in Ireland, a pilot programme of equality budgeting for the 2018 budgetary cycle is under way, anchored in the existing performance budgeting framework. For this first cycle of equality budgeting, a number of policy areas have been selected, including making childcare more affordable to reduce barriers to women's participation in the labour market and increasing female participation in apprenticeships. Associated objectives and indicators were published in the Revised Estimates Volume last December and progress towards achieving these targets has been reported in the public service performance report for 2017 which we published just last month.
I thank the Minister for his response and remind him that the Government's economic evaluation service recognised in the 2017 report that the budget was something more than a neutral process of resource allocation, that rather it was a value-laden process which embodied and potentially informed and influenced long-standing societal change in how resources were deployed. Those in our society with disabilities have for far too long fallen behind in the budgetary process and must now be placed at the centre of any future budget. In its discussion on disability proofing of budgets, the Irish Wheelchair Association has asked that 10% of all new builds be wheelchair accessible, not just visitable. What mechanisms is the Government putting in place to ensure future budgets will safeguard equal access to housing for those with disabilities?
Responsibility for matters related to how we support citizens with a disability lies with the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, who regularly challenges all Departments, including my own, to look at how we can meet their needs. As to how we are seeking to advance the broad equality budgeting agenda, my Department is engaging with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the National Women's Council of Ireland, both of which have broadly supported the initiative we have under way. I am attempting to establish an equality budgeting steering group which will consist of stakeholders and policy experts to look at how we can advance the initiative. What is crucial for me is identifying particular policy areas which are appropriate to deepen equality budgeting and track them in the way we have tracked many other indicators for many years.
I am aware of the Minister of State's responsibility, but that was not the issue I was raising. Technical guidance document M - on access and use - of the building regulations 2010 stipulates that all new builds must guarantee circulation within dwellings for disabled persons. Will the Government ensure compliance with the regulations within the private housing market and, if not, why not? What provisions can it put in place to ensure compliance to safeguard access to housing for disabled persons? The regulations do not apply to buildings constructed prior to 1992 and that has clear implications for those with disabilities and their access to housing. When the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government was contacted to provide information on the proportion of buildings built prior to 1992 within the housing market and compliance with the regulations, none could be provided for us. Given the importance of these data in any disability proofing of future budgets, how can the Government ensure adequate fact-finding mechanisms are in place to ensure equality proofing will be a process which will deliver rather than deceive? Will the Minister provide the resources in order that we can actually disability-proof budgets?
I am committed to increasing resources to deal with such issues. I have engaged with the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, on this area in two successive budgets. The issues of detail the Deputy raises are, however, matters for the Minister of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. I will contact him to see if I can get answers to the issues raised by the Deputy.
