Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 July 2022
208. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of progress of a well-being budgeting framework; if the framework is set to be included in budget 2023; if not, the expected timeline for completion and operationalisation of this well-being budget framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38630/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn Programme for Government – Our Shared Future, the Government set out a commitment to developing a set of well-being indices to create a well-rounded, holistic view of how Irish society is faring. In July 2021, the Government published an initial report, First Report on a Well-being Framework for Ireland, that set out an initial multi-dimensional well-being framework. The overarching vision of the Well-being Framework for Ireland is “enabling all our people to live fulfilled lives now and into the future”. In June 2022, the Government published a second report, Understanding Life in Ireland: The Well-being Framework, that builds on the initial report by taking account of the contributions to a public consultation and further research. Since autumn 2021, the CSO has hosted an interactive dashboard that flows from the conceptual framework and uses a cohesive set of indicators to measure life and progress in Ireland.
The Government is also committed to ensuring that the well-being framework is utilised in a systematic way across government policy making in evaluating programmes and reporting progress as well as in setting budgetary priorities (as an important complement to existing economic measurement tools).
As the budgetary process is a whole-of-year process, the well-being initiative is being developed in a way that seeks to inform this process as a whole.
Already, the use of a well-being perspective has been evident at the National Economic Dialogue. Over the course of the last couple of years, I have chaired breakout sessions that have been informed by a well-being perspective. This has provided participants with an opportunity to consider longer-term economic, social and environmental factors as part of their discussions of budgetary prioritisation.
Departments have been invited to consider how they might utilise the Well-being Framework as part of the Spending Review process. This is part of a wider effort to progress the use of the Well-being Framework as part of the policy process.
Finally, as noted in the Expenditure Report 2022, and subsequently in Understanding Life in Ireland: The Well-being Framework, the next phase of the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform's work in this area is to develop an approach to associating public expenditure with the various dimensions of the Well-being Framework. The intention is to develop over time a way of setting out budgetary decisions on the basis of well-being dimensions; an approach that would complement the existing Vote Group approach to presenting such decisions.
