Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2020
239. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to incorporate national satellite accounts into the budgetary process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14626/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraBy national satellite accounts I understand the Deputy to mean statistics that cover activities linked to the domestic economy but not part of the core national accounts. These include the modified measures of output and augmented sectoral accounts as produced by the Central Statistics Office.
Such metrics are already used in a key area of the Budgetary process, namely in the Department of Finance’s macro-economic forecasts. The biannual forecasts, endorsed by the Fiscal Council, involve assessing the CSO’s satellite accounts’ data to obtain a more accurate picture of real activity in the domestic economy.
Data in such areas has improved enormously over recent years and provides a useful supplementary set of indicators to the standard set of financial and economic tools available. In recognition of this the Programme for Government commits to supplementing existing economic measures with a new set of indicators, to include a set of wellbeing indices and a balanced scorecard for each area of public policy, and with clear linkages to budgetary policy.
