The Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, has today, Thursday 9th February 2023, published the fifth tranche of papers developed as part of the 2022 spending review process.
The spending review is a key platform for generating evidence for policy making across the Civil Service. Supported by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES), the process has become a focal point for the range of analysis being undertaken across Government Departments.
Welcoming the publication of these reviews, Minister Donohoe said:
“In line with overall objectives, Spending Review 2022 continues to examine policies and programmes to support evidence-informed policy making. This review has seen a wide variety of analysis undertaken across a range of policy areas.
"Furthermore, I am pleased to see an increasing number of Departments engaging with the Spending Review process. By collating this data and assessing it in this way, we can be better informed, allowing us to make better decisions.”
The Minister added:
“Today’s publication of 3 papers in the areas of transport and the environment focus on expenditure areas that have not been previously analysed as part of the spending review process. Today’s publications provide valuable insights across the policy areas in question, and add to building the evidence base across the Civil Service.”
Spending Review 2022 has seen the publication of 22 papers to date across a range of policy areas. There have been 84 papers published as part of the 2020-2022 Spending Review cycle overall.
The 3 papers published today, in addition to all spending reviews published since 2017, are available to view on the Spending Review website.
Also published today is a new IGEES Staff Paper on green budgeting. Green budgeting is the use of the budgetary system itself to promote and achieve improved environmental outcomes. Ireland is considered to be at the forefront of green budgeting reforms internationally and chairs the OECD-led Paris Collaborative on Green Budgeting.
One of the primary goals of implementing green budgeting is to improve transparency on the Government’s financial commitment to climate action. For example, since 2019, the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform has been reporting the level of climate-related expenditure annually in the Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services and is incorporating impact reporting on this expenditure in the annual Performance Budget Report.
The new paper, “A Review of Fossil Fuel Subsidies and other Potentially Climate Harmful Supports” builds on this work. It examines the various definitions of fossil fuel subsidies that are in use internationally. It then considers the most appropriate definition for identifying fossil fuel subsidies and other supports, which are likely to, in the views of the authors, lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions in an Irish context.I
In line with the reporting on climate-related expenditure, this definition has been applied to identify fossil fuel and other potentially climate harmful supports that will take place in 2023 on a subhead-by-subhead basis across Government Departments.
It is intended to incorporate this work into formal reporting, including through publication in future iterations of the Revised Estimates Volume.
High level summaries of papers published today:
Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Estimating the Potential Cost of Compliance with 2030 Climate & Energy Targets
This paper is a first attempt at estimating costs of compliance associated with Ireland’s EU climate targets. It presents the potential Exchequer implications should Ireland fail to make sufficient progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These compliance costs, coupled with the environmental science, highlight the importance of implementing the measures in the Climate Action Plan 2023.
Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Landfill Remediation Grant Scheme
This paper examines the Landfill Remediation Grant Scheme, and recommends on future scheme design to ensure its effectiveness and efficiency are better understood.
Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
A Review of Transport Infrastructure Ireland
This paper provides an overview and examination of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in order to inform future discussions regarding resourcing and Exchequer funding. The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of TII’s rationale for existence; examine trends in TII’s staffing and finances; and examine TII’s performance indicators to determine how output compares to the objectives set by the agency.
A Review of Fossil Fuel Subsidies and other Potentially Climate Harmful Supports
This paper represents the first step in fulfilling the Climate Action Plan commitment to develop and apply definitions to identify and track government spending that may be having a negative impact on climate outcomes.
ENDS