THE Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, today, Thursday August 26th, published the third tranche of Spending Review papers as part of the 2021 Spending Review process.
The spending review is a key platform for evidence for policy making across the Civil Service. Supported by Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) staff now working directly in all Departments, the process has become a focal point for the broad range of analysis ongoing across the Civil Service.
Welcoming these reviews, the Minister stated:
“The reports we are publishing today include those looking at new areas of spending that have not been analysed as part of the spending review before. Broadening the policy areas that are reviewed contributes towards a widening evidence base on which policy decisions are made.
“We must continue to examine recent expenditure trends and the effectiveness and efficiency of programme implementation. In this way we can achieve the best value for money and outcomes for citizens.”
In total there are 11 spending review papers for publication over the summer months covering a diverse range of policy areas. An additional tranche of spending review papers will be published in October. The papers published today, in addition to spending review papers published previously, are available on the Spending Review website.
Summaries of Spending Review papers:
Introduction
Executive Summaries – Tranche 3 Publications
The document sets out the executive summaries for the third tranche of 2021 spending review papers.
Health
Exchequer Funding of General Practice 2018-2020
The paper, produced by staff in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, reviews one of the largest health expenditure growth areas in recent years. The note examines drivers of expenditure in addition to the rationale and impact of discrete policy decisions and the extent to which the Covid-19 pandemic played a role.
Social Protection
Social Impact Assessment 2021 – An Assessment of Living Standards – Results from the 2019 Survey on Income and Living Conditions
The paper, produced by staff in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, sets out the main results of the 2019 Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) provided by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The aim of this paper is provide an analysis of the 2019 SILC’s key income, poverty and social exclusion indicators trends to explore how they have changed with the economic cycle. It also aims to examine the impact that COVID-19 may be having on incomes and poverty using ad-hoc CSO publications on the impact of COVID-19 on income and poverty metrics.
Pay and Pensions Policy
Evaluation of Industrial Relations Expertise in the Civil Service
The paper, produced by staff in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, assesses whether it is considered that there is a deficit of Industrial Relations expertise amongst staff working in the Human Resources Units in Civil Service Departments. It also reviews whether any deficit is impacting negatively on Management’s ability to engage effectively with union officials within the Civil Service Industrial Relations processes and procedures.
Enterprise
An Analysis of the Distribution of Enterprise Supports
The paper, produced by staff in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, contains a descriptive analysis on the distribution of enterprise supports from the enterprise agencies under the aegis of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for the years 2015-2020.
The Impact of Covid-19 on State Supported Lending
This paper, produced by staff in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, reviews developments in the use and objectives of State Supported Loan Schemes, provides a profile of recipients, and frames these developments in light of market and State responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
