The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, T.D. and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, T.D., welcomed today (16th July 2013) the publication of the International Monetary Fund’s Report Ireland: Fiscal Transparency Assessment. http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2013/pr13258.htm
The Irish Government volunteered to be one of the first countries to be assessed against the standards set by the IMF’s revised Fiscal Transparency Code. The purpose of the Assessment is to help ensure that Ireland’s fiscal transparency practices are fit for purpose in terms of international standards and investor expectations and that policymakers, legislators and citizens have a more complete picture of the state of public finances.
The Assessment, which was conducted in March 2013, found that Ireland’s fiscal reporting and forecasting practices are approaching best practice. The Assessment also made recommendation for further enhancing fiscal transparency in Ireland, including by (i) expanding the coverage of budgets, statistics, and accounts; (ii) harmonizing accounting practices across public bodies; (iii) accelerating the timetable for publication of fiscal data; and (iv) publishing a comprehensive statement of fiscal risks.
The Government has already taken steps which address a number of these recommendations. In April 2013, the Central Statistics Office published, for the first time, an integrated presentation of the quarterly financial statistics for the general government, including data on the value of public-private-partnership contracts and government guarantees, and estimates of the general government’s overall net financial worth. The Government is also bringing forward the date of the Budget to the 15th of October in accordance with new EU fiscal reforms to bring about a common budgetary timeline.
Referring to the Progress Report, the Ministers stated “while there have been significant changes in the external environment in recent years, the report found that Ireland’s fiscal reporting and forecasting practices are approaching best practice. We welcome, in particular, initiatives aimed at better presentation and at improving the joined-up and unified accounting practices across government and state agencies. The report identifies a number of good practices across the system and further improvements that may be made and these areas are key aspects of our reform plan.”
Referring to the Report, Minister Howlin noted that “the findings demonstrate the good performance and reforms that have brought us amongst those countries who demonstrate best practice in this field.”
Minister Noonan said “These plans demonstrate an encouraging degree of existing convergence with internationally accepted standards. The Government has already taken a number of significant steps to improve the coverage, quality, and timeliness of its fiscal reports since this assessment was conducted in March. We have referred the recommendations and associated action plan contained in the report to a Steering Group, under the supervision of the Departments of Finance and of Public Expenditure and Reform, for assessment and implementation as appropriate. In addition to the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the CSO and the Office of the Comptroller & Auditor General are also represented and representatives from other relevant bodies will be invited to attend as necessary.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
Fiscal transparency entails being open to the public about the government’s past, present, and future fiscal activities, and about the structure and functions of government that determine fiscal policies and outcomes. Such transparency fosters better-informed public debate, as well as greater government accountability and credibility.
Fiscal Transparency Assessments
Fiscal Transparency Assessments (FTAs) are a new evaluation developed by the IMF to evaluate the comprehensiveness, reliability, timeliness, and relevance of country’s published fiscal information. The Assessment compares countries’ fiscal reporting, fiscal forecasting and budgeting, and fiscal risk analysis and management practices against the standards set by the IMF’s Fiscal Transparency Code.
Ireland was one of the first countries to volunteer for a pilot Assessment. The Assessment, which was conducted by and IMF team which visited Dublin in March 2013, was based on a working draft of the Fiscal Transparency Code which is currently being revised to reflect the lessons of the recent global crisis and developments is fiscal reporting standards and practices since the Code was last updated in 2007.
The working draft of the Fiscal Transparency Code used in this first round of pilot FTAs can be found here http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/consult/2013/fisctransp/pdf/070113.pdf
FTAs replace the fiscal transparency ROSCs as the IMF’s principal tool for evaluating countries’ fiscal disclosure practices. The principal differences between the FTA and fiscal transparency ROSC are explained in the 2012 IMF policy paper Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Risk http://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2012/080712.pdf
More information about the IMF’s Fiscal Transparency Code and Assessment can be found at http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2013/POL061713A.htm