Research policy paper on new measures of well-being and progress
Background:
The current Programme for Government states the following: The Government is conscious that we need to supplement our existing economic measurements with new ones. We know that our existing measures of economic performance fail to measure matters such as damage to the environment and voluntary work. They also overlook equality of opportunity, distribution of wealth and income and only value public expenditure on the basis of the inputs used, not the outcomes achieved.
We will develop a set of indicators to create a broader context for policy making, to include
A set of well-being indices to create a well-rounded, holistic view of how our society is faring.
A balanced scorecard for each area of public policy focused on outcomes and the impact that those policies have on individuals and communities. Initially this will be focused on housing, education and health.
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, we will convene a group of experts from the public service, academia, NGOs and the private sector to guide this work.
Once developed, we will ensure that it is utilised in a systematic way across government policymaking 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.
The Government has recently announced that it will has started to undertake this work- https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/9dce3-government-agrees-to-begin-work-on-a-well-being-framework-for-ireland/
