I propose to take Questions Nos. 235, 236, 237, 238 and 244 together.
As outlined in the ‘Programme for Government - Our Shared Future’, the government has committed to developing a set of wellbeing indicators to give a more well-rounded, holistic view of how our society is faring. Initially focusing on housing, education and health, a set of indicators will be developed to create a broader context for policy-making, to include a balanced scorecard for each area of public policy, focused on outcomes and the impact that those policies have on individuals and communities. The overriding focus is to improve the wellbeing of the Irish people and society.
The development of this work will be informed by the experience of other jurisdictions which have developed similar measures in recent years. Through the Department of the Taoiseach, a group of experts will be convened from the public service, academia, NGOs, and the private sector to guide this work.
Once developed, Government will ensure that it is utilised in a systematic way across government policy-making at local and national levels, in setting budgetary priorities, evaluating programmes and reporting progress. This will be an important complement to existing economic measurement tools that are in place to support well-being and outcomes-based approaches to policy making.
This includes the ESRI’s SWITCH Model which will continue to be utilised to help Government understand the impact of proposed reforms on households. Moreover, initiatives such as the Spending Review process, which is a key platform for evidence informed policy making across the Civil Service, will continue to produce evidence relevant to the wellbeing and outcomes of people, households, businesses and sectors of the economy.
Through my Department's responsibility for Performance and Equality budgeting, work is already underway in examining developments in this area, particularly regarding international best practice. Leveraging the experience in identifying metrics which maximise transparency and accountability, and utilising the guidance we provide to line departments in identifying the most appropriate measures to scrutinise public expenditure, I envisage that my Department will play a key role in working with the Department of the Taoiseach in delivering this work.
In terms of budgeting for demographic related costs, this is an issue that is under constant review in my Department. An updated version of the paper ‘Budgetary Impacts of Changing Demographics 2020 - 2030’ was published by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service alongside Budget 2020. A number of policy areas of particular relevance to demographics are covered in this paper, including pensions, child benefit, education provision and health schemes such as the Nursing Home Support Scheme.
This most recent version of the paper suggests demographic pressures of approximately €0.5 billion annually across Health, Social Protection and Education over most of the period to 2030. The analysis in this paper is based on an examination of sectoral expenditure data and CSO population estimates for the period, using the M2F2 projection scenario. These estimates form a central part of Estimates discussions with the relevant Ministers and Departments and are subject to ongoing evaluation.